Who's a swinger and who's a hitter?

[grantc79]

I'm wondering who on this board is a swinger and who on this board is a hitter.

I'm going through my teacher which teaches from The Golfing Machine by Homer Kelly and basically there seems to be two types of players.

The swinger that drives with the butt/bottom of the flat left wrist out in front of the ball and downwards while leaving the right hand passive during their swing.

The hitter that forces down and outwards with the right hand where the hands meets the wrist while keeping the left wrist flat.


Both seem to work well and I'm currently a swinger that is struggling with lag timing at times and considering going with the hitters approach.

I'm a very tall, very strong armed guy and I think the hitter approach tends to steer me in that direction rather than the swingers approach which lends itself better to more flexible players.


I was wondering what the majority of players on this board or between the two and how they feel about the two techniques.

[Brakkus]

I voted swinger,but don't conciously engage any hand action at all.I swing on plane like Jim Hardy teaches,but turn aggressively at the start of my swing with a hip turn,and then that momentum is the trigger for me to freewheel the rest of the way.

My arms and hands really I try to leave as dead as possible.As most people have remarked about my swing,that it doesn't look fast,but I seem to still get enough distance.

[extremeld]

dont really agree with the op swing theory so neither - i am a hitter i hit it with everything! Sharp accelaration just before impact.

I would say a swinger has a smoother acceleration.

That has always been how i distinguish between swingers and hitters.

[JackLee]

I'm a swinger using the master key instruction, but my right hand is not passive. I just don't think about it.

I know my right hand is not passive, because if I take it off the club, I cannot make much of a swing.

[mikelz]

My left thumb controls everything.

[grantc79]

I'm a swinger using the master key instruction, but my right hand is not passive. I just don't think about it.

Well typically if you have an active right hand as a swinger then you wind up with club head throw away which adds loft to clubs, reduces swing speed, reduces club head lag, and leads to a lot of sweeping of the ball.

But it acts as a guide no matter what just having it there so swinging one handed poorly isn't really surprising is it?

[JackLee]

Well typically if you have an active right hand as a swinger then you wind up with club head throw away which adds loft to clubs, reduces swing speed, reduces club head lag, and leads to a lot of sweeping of the ball.

I think we are just not on the same page about the meaning of the words active and passive.

[PEZGolf]

I'm wondering who on this board is a swinger and who on this board is a hitter.

I am a swinger and I teach ALL of my students to be the same. For over 30 years, I have been a golf instructor, and the golf swings that I tell my students to emulate are Freddie Couples, Fred Funk, the late Payne Stewart, Slammin' Sammy Snead, Steve Elkington, etc. They all have or had smooth swings, with good tempo, rhythm, balance, and timing.

People ask me how well that emphasis works. Here are the results in my own case: I am 60 years old and play 3 times a month, and still score to a 4 handicap. My distance is the same as when I was 20. How is this possible? I practice in the backyard nearly every day, and seldom hit plastic balls. What I do is swing 100 times emphasizing rhythm, and doing the "1,2, 3 count" that Sam Snead used to think when he swung. Also, I practice, practice, and practice my short game. RESULTS: I almost never miss a fairway, and average hitting 12 to 14 greens in regulation. Being a swinger makes you a consistent striker of the balll PROVIDED that you have good fundamentals and PRACTICE faithfully.

[grantc79]

I am a swinger and I teach ALL of my students to be the same. For over 30 years, I have been a golf instructor, and the golf swings that I tell my students to emulate are Freddie Couples, Fred Funk, the late Payne Stewart, Slammin' Sammy Snead, Steve Elkington, etc. They all have or had smooth swings, with good tempo, rhythm, balance, and timing.

I'm torn right now Pez.

I feel that as a swinger I have a bit more fluid, limber, and get a tad more feel on shots. But lately practicing hitting I feel that I am already becoming more consistent. I hit 300+ balls per day and I don't have to take a winter break here in South Louisiana so I could do either one but I'm finding swinging to take far more precision than hitting. The timing just has to be 100% there to be a swinger but as a hitter its a lot simpler and the results are very similar. Plus its practically impossible to lag your club improperly. I've picked up about 10 yards per club going from swinging to hitting.

[powerfade]

Swinger.

I'm a bit tall (6'3-1/2" in shoes) but not strong armed. I rely on a large swing arc and a big shoulder turn (among other things) to get my distance. I do try to make sure I'm swinging through the ball with the back of my left hand and a firm left wrist. I think this helps me with accuracy.

Bringing the right hand into the picture results in mad hooks.

[MattljDuke]

Well, a man named Ben Hogan always said to hit the ball hard "with both hands." I've always kinda followed that.

I guess that makes me a hitter. I find it very difficult to make left arm only or right arm only swings. I never really understood that drill. If both hands are one unit, why try to control the club with half of that unit?

[grantc79]

Bringing the right hand into the picture results in mad hooks.

That depends on how the right hand is used.

Next time you are at the range try using the joint of the right wrist where the bottom of the palm meets the wrist and see how it goes. A: At address relax the right elbow and arm as much as possible. B: Apply pressure on the mentioned point of your hand at address. C: Begin your backswing and maintain that pressure throughout. D: In your downswing maintain that pressure and straighten your right arm outwards and downwards through impact (effectively releasing that pressure and using the right arm like a piston). I've been experimenting with it and I find that it gives me much better lag throughout, more distance, and more control on some shots. However, until you get the feel of it you will feel alot more tense throughout your swing and won't have that fluidity until you manage to localize the pressure. But now that I'm starting to figure that out I'm finding my swing is much slower and smoother overall (though I feel slightly more rigid) despite the fact that I'm gaining distance.

[grantc79]

Well, a man named Ben Hogan always said to hit the ball hard "with both hands." I've always kinda followed that.

I think that the premise is both hands are working together for a common goal, not both hands are doing the same thing.

If both hands were doing the same thing then you would want both wrists cocked, not one flat and one cocked or vice versa.

[wachesawgolfer]

I think that the premise is both hands are working together for a common goal, not both hands are doing the same thing.

Actually, they both cock. While the left wrist is flat, it is clearly cocked up. You may be confusing cupping with cocking.

[wachesawgolfer]

The right arm drives in any swing, its more of when and where the power is turned on as opposed to all or nothing. As someone above stated, they thought their right hand/arm passive until they realized they could not swing the same without it. To me swingers hit hard with the right after impact and hitters engage the right prior to impact.

[grantc79]

Actually, they both cock. While the left wrist is flat, it is clearly cocked up. You may be confusing cupping with cocking.

The left wrist never cocks.

It rolls and travels upwards when the club head rotates during the takeaway. But it does not cock. In fact you should be able to literally stop virtually anywhere in your swing and without moving your wrists in the slightest return to a proper address of the ball.

[powerfade]

That depends on how the right hand is used.

Are you trying to mess up my swing

[grantc79]

Are you trying to mess up my swing

Just making conversation