Awkward advice from my teaching pro?

[MCFung]

So I just got back from my second lesson with my teaching pro. He had me working on some drills that I found very awkward. Now, I understand that he is the pro, and I should be listening to what he has to say, but I've studied a lot of swings and read a fair amount of books, so I thought I knew the majority of the swing fundamentals. I am not so arrogant to think that I know ALL of the fundamentals, but what he was trying to get me to do was WAY out of left field for me.

Essentially, he was trying to get me to pull the handle of the club across my body during the down swing, and not release until the butt end was past my front foot. And then, his idea of releasing the club was rotating the club, almost flexing my leading arm's forearm, to square the clubface to the ball. This concept is incredibly foreign to me. Not only that, I don't think my body is physically capable of doing this! It puts incredible strain on my leading arm, and when he puts my hands in the correct position, my trailing hand almost comes off the grip, because I can't get that much wrist cock.

Has anyone heard of a downswing technique like this before?

[julie_m]

How are you at lag in your swing?

This is a drill, it's not how you're going to hit normally, but I'm wondering if you ever really get that 90 degree angle in your swing. Perhaps that's what he's trying to get you to do.

This is what I'm talking about :



It's Sergio Garcia, so he has a very severe lag (and yes, strong wrists) so it may be an extreme example, but an ideal.

[MCFung]

My lag isn't the same as Sergio's, but its not THAT bad. :) I have much bigger struggles with my weight shift and hip rotation.

What is the desired outcome of this drill? To build lag? Also, what should my ball flight look like when I hit balls during this drill? I couldn't even make solid contact with this drill, so I have no idea.

Thanks!

[julie_m]

What is the desired outcome of this drill? To build lag?

Mine is just a theory, really, based of trying to visualize what you told us. Getting the 90 degree angle in that shot, that's my best guess. But I'm not a teaching pro. (There are some on here I believe, we'll see what they think.)

Also, what should my ball flight look like when I hit balls during this drill? I couldn't even make solid contact with this drill, so I have no idea.

My experience with drills is that you're not necessarily always hitting balls. Just getting the motion in your body memory for when you do drive.

[C 6 System]

So I just got back from my second lesson with my teaching pro. He had me working on some drills that I found very awkward. Now, I understand that he is the pro, and I should be listening to what he has to say, but I've studied a lot of swings and read a fair amount of books, so I thought I knew the majority of the swing fundamentals. I am not so arrogant to think that I know ALL of the fundamentals, but what he was trying to get me to do was WAY out of left field for me.

I have never heard anyone teach lag and wrist cock like that. When on the down swing, I have always found it more natural for the trailing hand to control what the club does. Some people interpret this as flipping the club, but it should be a rotation of the hand and forearm. So I'm pretty confused as to why the teaching professional is teaching you to flex your forearm.

When I'm teaching lag and swing speed, I have the student to flip the club around so the butt of the club is facing down. When they swing the club they should hear a "whoosh" at the very bottom of their swing. If that "whoosh" comes before, then they are releasing the club too early. It should help a lot as you don't need anyone around to tell you if you're doing this correctly.

[golfdad]

not a pro here, but a newbie to here, dad to couple talented juniors, will give this question a try.

correct me if i am wrong, but i get the feeling that the pro was not focusing on the lag. instead, he was trying to focus on the proper action of the wrists in the hitting zone...(not knowing how you play, i have to speculate a bit)

most people misunderstand the crossover as a wrist phenom. in you study the slow mo of the best players vs the beginners, you will see that the former tend to keep the leading wrist flat, if not bowed out. the moment you flip the wrists, your swing is on the way up, instead of down to proper take the divot.

what the pro was suggesting is to delay the wrist flip if you will, or simply maintain the wrists through out the contact with the ball.

one often find this body mechanics difficult to emulate, partly because the chest is staying back, partly because the legs are falling behind.

give this some thoughts...btw, think of how michelson chips and how he finishes his chipping motion, that may help.

[thumper07]

it sounds like he is trying to teach your left arm to lead which all the fundementals tell you it should. also a proper fundemenal release of the club head is the right forearm roling over the left with soft wrists just letting it go down the line. you dont need strong wrists to swing this way, you need to get the feel of using your big mussels to release the club. no good player i have ever talked to thinks about how much lag they create, lag is just a by-product of a good turn and too is a good release. all i have worked on the last couple months is a turn and my ball striking has gotten so much better.

-matt

[tm22721]

He's teaching a body release instead of the typical crossover release.

In the body release you don't have to time the rollover of the forearms because there is no rollover. The hands just hold on to the club. The club is connected to and pulled by the body to the left and low, and the clubhead naturally releases around the body. The best ball strikers like Hogan and Snead used this technique due to its repeatability and accuracy. It demands athleticism to get the body to the left as far as possible at impact, ie 45 degrees or more open.

[thumper07]

can you post video of what he is trying to get you to do?
that would help us alot.
-matt

[grantc79]

My lag isn't the same as Sergio's, but its not THAT bad. :) I have much bigger struggles with my weight shift and hip rotation.

Really the fundamentals of a good golf swing are 2 things (for a rightie):

1: Flat left wrist at impact and throughout swing 2: Cocked right wrist at impact and throughout swing If you do those two things throughout you have good lag and will be fine. If you don't do those things well then weight shift and hip rotation should be an afterthought. Furthermore, maintaining lag and wrist positions through your swing will make your power/energy transfer smoother, better, and easier which will undoubtedly help your waist and weight issues. He's probably telling you things like: Imagine your left hand is a hammer and you are driving a nail out in front of the ball. Imagine you are dragging a mop with your left hand through your swing. Try to force your right elbow in front of your belly button during your swing while pulling with your left hand. There are endless analogies.

[grantc79]

Either way, the whole point is:

A: your hands should be in front of the ball at impact
B: your shaft should be leaning forward at impact
C: your swing should be down and out, not just down, and not just out
D: if you don't catch the ball first and then take a 3 inch or so divot in front of it you aren't lagging or swinging downward enough


I've had my teacher tell me the same things yours is telling you and there's nothing wrong with it.

He might be taking it a bit too extreme to get you to learn it well but its tough to say without knowing your exact swing and situation.

But the point is, you either have to do exactly what he tells you or stop seeing him.

Asking a bunch of guys on the internet and doubting yourself and his teaching won't do anything but waste your time and money.