Swing Video

[bm303]

I have been playing golf for a little over a year now, and I shoot pretty consistently in the low 80's. I took about 6 lessons when I first started playing, and my swing was as good as I could remember. Somewhere along the line, I know that I lost a key part of my swing, and I have yet to figure it out. I used to step up to the ball and hit every one high, pure, and far, with a nice small divot. Lately I have been scoring well but my head appears to be moving quite a bit, and my right foot is coming off of the ground too early. I also noticed that my grip is too strong in my left hand, and the right hand is too far on top of the left. My spine angle is totally messed up and I don't know what to do to fix it. Also my club is way too close to my body in this video. I would truly appreciate it if I could get some replies regarding my swing and things I need to do to correct it. I apologize ahead of time for the neighbors music, and the poor videos. Both videos I am using a PW, and if I need to make videos with a 6 iron/driver I will do so upon request. My recent swing has been so disappointing that I can't even go get fitted for a driver because it's just a waste of time, and I get so frustrated with myself. Thanks a lot!!

http://tinyurl.com/67aq55

http://tinyurl.com/56vaep

[RC]

Hey, don't be too hard on yourself -- that is a pretty good looking swing for this stage in your golf life. A couple of things: on the backswing, the club head drops a little under plane (think about keeping the clubhead above the plane of your hands going back). The second thing is after impact you keep your eyes and head fixed on where the ball used to be too long. Let your head release and follow your turn through the ball. I'm not suggesting the look ahead as in the style of Anna or some others, just to not be rigid about your head -- let it be a part of your follow-through.

On your backswing, try to hold the flex in the right knee a little more as you swing back into a braced right side. Think about the right knee cap looking at the ball as you load your right side. You are not bad at all, just do not let the right leg straighten going back. A modern rotating swing has a little leaning reverse K shape on the right side when viewed from face on (your second video.) Take a look at Tiger or Anthony Kim from face on.

Can't really see your grip but the left hand looks a little strong -- hey, some can play this way just fine. More important is to make sure the left hand grip is well down in the fingers and the heel pad of the LH is on top of the club without the back of the left hand facing skyward. Normal lefthand grips have the back of the left hand facing the target a bit more.

Better than some unknown suggestions from the internet... go see a teaching pro and get some fine tuned tweaking.

Enjoy your athletic swing.

[bm303]

Hey, don't be too hard on yourself -- that is a pretty good looking swing for this stage in your golf life. A couple of things: on the backswing, the club head drops a little under plane (think about keeping the clubhead above the plane of your hands going back). The second thing is after impact you keep your eyes and head fixed on where the ball used to be too long. Let your head release and follow your turn through the ball. I'm not suggesting the look ahead as in the style of Anna or some others, just to not be rigid about your head -- let it be a part of your follow-through.

What you have said is very interesting, because today I was at a demo day where I met a teaching pro at the country club. He spent a good 45 minutes with me analyzing my swing, and every point that you have mentioned we discussed. My right knee, my flat plane, and I adjusted my grip this morning based upon feedback on another forum. This guy hit it right on, and I know why my game has been struggling. Put into simple words, I went from my normal "2 plane" swing to a "1 plane" swing that had problems. I plan to take a few lessons with this pro, and for $37.50 an hour it's a great deal. Thanks for the feedback, I think the grip adjustment will help me out a lot too. You were right on with the comments, and I appreciate that.

[RC]

Thank you for your comments. Glad you got the chance to visit with the swing doctor you mentioned, and that you have a good deal on lessons.

Nothing really takes the place of one-on-one interaction with a good teacher, although video analysis is rapidly becoming exceptionally good. After checking out the "free" video analysis offered on this site, I was really impressed with the great job done here. The Sand Trap really is more than just a forum, it is a great multipurpose site.

Stick with getting the fundamentals right because the earlier you get a solid swing down, the faster your scores and ball striking will improve -- even if the learning phase produces some bad shots. A key thing is to get to the point where you know your own swing well enough to know what you need to do when you get "off" your game. That does not mean an immdediate fix on the course -- sometimes you just cannot do that in the middle of a round, even if you know what it is you want to do. What I mean is being able to go to the range and work on productive improvement and not grooving bad habits while practicing. Sounds like that is what you will be doing now that you have things to work on and continuing lessons.