How do you swing the club?

[Dr_Fu_Manchu]

I am about 90% self taught and over the last 3 years of playing I have always started my downswing with my hips moving to the left, followed by moving my chest and shoulders, allowing my arms to come along for the ride. I don't know exactly where I came up with this, but I have always relied on my core to power my swing.

However, today, I started toying with getting my arms and hands more actively involved. Same sequence, but using my arms to add some power. I added about 10 yards to my irons and 20+ with my driver, but my consistency was off. That might be because it is a new swing or because this is not a proper way to swing the club.

I am a pretty athletic guy, who has lifted weights for over 15 years so I have the strength in my arms and figured I should use it.

Should I have been doing this all along? How do you swing the club?

[jojoampt]

I too am about 99% self taught. I continuously get contradictory advice. Everything you read says start with your hips. The pro at my local clubs tells me to let my hands and arms move my body and not the other way around. Although, I think he may be telling me this because I sometimes let my body get waaay out in front, which is obviously bad. So I think hes telling me this because in my mind, I think im starting the downswing with my hands and arms, when in actuality im subconsciously still starting with my hips, just not getting them to far out front. Does this make any sense?

[DavidFehertysBike]

Im only about 25% self-taught as far as swing mechanics, but i more or less use my instincts to hit the ball. I coil back level to the top, also making sure i keep my elbows down and level (i have a flat swing) Coming back, I squeze my left thigh, then just drop my hands. I let centrifugal force do the rest.

[imtomtomim]

I'm just about all self taught. No one has ever critiqued my swing, well, almost no one (hackers throwing out advice they can't follow). Anyways, I do use my hands and arms in my swing. I find that I forget how to sometimes and that leads to inconsistencies but when I know how to throw my hands, I'm longer, more controlled, more accurate, more consistent. I try to keep my hands infront of my left armpit towards the inside more and I try to keep that club end positioned in that spot. Upon impact, I have that Hogan-esque right elbow which comes inside tight and here's my secret. I push the heel of my right hand into my left wrist which keeps it flat or even makes it an obtuse angle. If you were to compare my swings to some well known professional players, I have a backswing and downswing like Tiger/Hogan and at impact and finish, it looks a bit like Villegas.

FuManchu - The problem with using your arms more is that it's easy to start separating it from the body. If you use your arm strength more for stability instead of explosive strength, you'll have much better results.

[JCDot33]

to my understanding (now mind you I am no PGA teaching pro) your backswing should following this sequence wrists -> arms -> shoulders -> torso -> hips and your downswing should uncoil in the exact opposite sequence ... leading with your hands, I believe, is called "hitting from the top" and is something 100% discouraged due to the fact that it creates accuracy issues ...

That's just my understanding of it, but again, I am not a PGA Teaching Pro ...

[Zeph]

I turn my torso, raise the arms, hips follow.

Then hips start torso and arms follow.

Try to not have any wrist action before impact. They will fall automatically into place if I do this correct.

[alcorn]

With 2 hands??????