Pop-ups & Slice

[rckwd]

You have hit on something that most people do not realize. The lower body transfers weight back to the lead foot but does not turn much until after impact. Ben Hogan felt like he turned his hips as fast as he could and players for years have been fighting an over active lower body which is beyond the ball at impact so the club is open and nothing is left to hit with through the ball. If you look at Hogan's swing his hips were square or slightly open at impact but he is still behind the ball. He could not have been in such a position had he turned hips as "hard as he could" to start the downswing. The clubhead has too far to travel and cannot catch up if the hips turn too much too soon in the downswing.

Your right...if you look at his swing, his hip are only slightly forward and open (I would say 22.5 degrees...maybe 22.6..LOL) but his head is still well behind the ball.

[oreodawg1]

The simplest thing for me to remember is when I wear a glove(i don't know if you do) on my left hand(i'm right handed) at impact the nike sign should be facing the target. If it points up, then there is your high shot/ slice. Hope this helps, and good luck with it.

[eneloop]

I think most of my problems occur when I try to hit fat (in order to get more distance). If I focus more on tempo most of my shots go straight and the ones that I miss hit are off about 5-10 yards left/right (w/9i).

I think the times where I hit with an open club face at impact is when my hips don't clear or my hands fall behind. The times when I hit pop-ups I recall my body weight being 50-50 or more towards my back leg (baseball swing?).

I went to the driving range today and tried the drill hitting the ball with your feet very close together. Using my 9i it goes about the same distance as my half swing which is around 80 yards. Does this mean that my normal swing is just utilizing the wrist/hinge as the power source? Is this what you mean by active hands?

I'm not sure how to get more distance without miss-hitting shots. If I try to rotate faster I end up hitting fat. I am taking a beginner's golf course at a community college, however; and often use youtube as a learning source.



driver: 150 yards
6 iron: 120 yards
9 iron (cavity back): 90-100 yards
9 iron (muscle back): 70-85 yards

[eneloop]

Your right...if you look at his swing, his hip are only slightly forward and open (I would say 22.5 degrees...maybe 22.6..LOL)

I think in my swing my head is ahead/even with the ball during impact. Even if I setup the ball left of center. Should it be behind the ball?

[rckwd]

I think in my swing my head is ahead/even with the ball during impact. Even if I setup the ball left of center. Should it be behind the ball?

If you set-up with your ball off your left heal at address, naturally your head is going to be behind the ball and that is where it needs to stay until a little after impact. The rotation of your hips and shoulders will take your head around.

[rckwd]

I think most of my problems occur when I try to hit fat (in order to get more distance). If I focus more on tempo most of my shots go straight and the ones that I miss hit are off about 5-10 yards left/right (w/9i).

I wouldnt worry too much about distance right now. I know it is hard not to do, but once you are hitting balls well on a consistant basis, your muscle memory kicks in and then you can start trying to put more on the ball. Just remember you worst enemy is that space between your ears...dont think too much. Get your grip down, get in the proper address and swing.

[eneloop]

One thing I wanted to add was that on my downswing I would let the clubhead fall on its own and my wrists would unhinge about 1/3 into the downswing.

I just recently learned about clubhead lag by keeping the wrists hinged using an almost pulling motion when starting your downswing. This added about 10-15 more yards on a solid hit, but most shots were off target.