My swing has no lag!

[browntown]

I just filmed my swing trying to figure out why I have lost all consistency and I might have an idea why. It seems I swing with all arms which results in fat shots, thin shots or shanks. I've been reworking my swing since last year and I have only done so by feel and results. I use to have a severe over the top swing which now is generally straight or slight pull.

What are some tips to fix this zero lag problem, and do you think this is the cause of my problems?

Here's the sequence which almost looks identical to my take away but it's not. :(

http://www.sansink.com/golf/driversequence.jpg

[golfin88]

It doesn't look like you are really transferring your weight, you hips are not open . You should focus on opening your hips more. Thats what helped me with holding my lag and my hands would just drag down then

[HSip]

  golfin88 said:

It doesn't look like you are really transferring your weight, you hips are not open . You should focus on opening your hips more. Thats what helped me with holding my lag and my hands would just drag down then

I was going to say the same thing - looks like little or no turn (just the shoulders). Hard to maintain lag that way.

[DaveLeeNC]

Look at your zipper in the last 3 frames. Your hips have completely stalled out.

Fixing this will NOT (by itself) cure your lag issue. But not fixing it will prevent you from fixing your lag for sure.

Start with half swings and learn to keep turning through the ball. Unless you are better than I am you will find this most difficult, but do-able.

A possibly better place to start is short chip shots (say a 9i that carries 10 yards). Learn to power this shot with body turn, not your arms. This will be somewhat helpful in your full swing problem, and is virtually guaranteed to improve your chipping.

dave

[bunkerputt]

What does your finish look like? I'm guessing hips pointing right of the target until they are pulled around by the momentum of your arms. You have a slight reverse pivot on your backswing. It's really difficult to start with your "hips" (think abdominal obliques instead of "shoulders" which really means middle-upper back) from that reverse pivot position. Try to get the feel of a level shoulder turn. You want just a turn, instead of a tilt-and-turn, which is what people call the reverse pivot. Also, what's your tempo like? If your acceleration isn't constant you can't maintain lag. The lag exists until the acceleration stops which looks like frame 2 in your case. Based on your arms and back muscles, you seem strong enough. Do you have lower back pain or any other physical limitation that impairs turning?

Compare these two guys to your top of backswing. Notice how your head is much further forward. Their's looks like a reverse K, while yours looks like a flattened reverse S. I notice that because that is my tendency as well and a proper hip-turn has always been my problem.

http://perfectgolfswingreview.net/WoodsScottImpact.jpg

[beachbreak]

Excellent position at the top.

Your first move down is all arms.

Like the others said, not much drive in the hips and legs. Notice how you are standing straight up the whole time.

Swing the club one handed with your left arm only. It will be impossible to generate any "whoosh" without using your legs and body turn.

Forget hands and arms for the first move down. Let the club feel almost weightless and start down by pushing left hip as far forward as possible while turning it, feeling this is pulling the club into the hitting area. It will give you a slightly inverted "C" (spine tilted back). No way you can pull the ball with a "late hit" like this.

[beachbreak]

Then again, you're an 8.5 so you must have alot of strong points in your game. I bet you are a good wedge player and pitcher/chipper.

[Blue Arc]

You have to take your arms and shoulders out of the swing. To swing with you arms tense would mean you would have to plan the timing of the wrist cock release and that cannot be done. It has to happen naturally. Try standing and just swinging the club about a foot off the ground. Shift your weight to the back foot, make a relaxed back swing then shift you weight to the front foot with the arms and shoulders totally relaxed. This will pull your hips around toward the target. Your torso will turn and bring your shoulders and arms into action. Took me forever to get this. the momentum of your body turning toward the target will create the swing and the weight of the arms and club will bring you around so your belt buckle is finished facing the target and you rear foot is up on the toe. Swing with weight and body. Take the arms out of it. You will hit the ball farther with less effort than you probably have so far.

[browntown]

So I had a quick session on the range today and got a few frames put together. It looks like I am starting to initiate the downswing with my hips, but still not turning all the way through and holding on to my lag. It is a step in the right direction though..

http://www.sansink.com/golf/driver2.jpg

Frame 3 in the first image VS Frame 5 in the New image.


I'll get out again this weekend if the weather is nice and not blowing 40mph with sketchy looking clouds.

Any good drills on turning my hips through and holding onto lag? I found one about taking my index and thumb off of the grip on my right hand, forming a gun.

[browntown]

  beachbreak said:

Then again, you're an 8.5 so you must have alot of strong points in your game. I bet you are a good wedge player and pitcher/chipper.

The crazy thing is I always thought I had good lag because my drives average around 285. This year my drives have been pretty good with bad being a pull. My short game, < 50 yards is pretty good, but my irons are just terrible. Lots of fat shots, thin shots and shanks. I'm guessing that this is because my hands are so far behind the ball and I have a scooping motion. but hey, I'm obviously no expert!

[Zeph]

Try swinging slower, maybe even extremely slow to get the feeling of how to keep the lag. You can try this drill: http://www.golftipsmag.com/instructi...yan-moore.html

I'm struggling with the same myself. I work on keeping my arms and wrists dead and turning down on the ball, not out and down. If you start going out from the top, you'll have to release early to get down on the ball. I emphasize going down and coming from the inside.

[Leftygolfer]

The pulls/poor iron play could very well from coming over the top. That is my fault.

I think in regards to lag your arms are moving faster than your body so that you have to lose your angle or lag to hit it solidly.

I would work on small swings and focus on hitting down on it. If you do that and don't hit it fat, you have to have lag to get the right strike.

[Leftygolfer]

Another thing is check your grip and that the club is in your fingers.

[bunkerputt]

285 with no lag. That sounds like my old swing. I had to give it up because I turned 30 and my body couldn't handle it. I remember watching someone really good and noticing the swoosh occurred only at the ball, while mine occurred pretty much throughout my entire swing. Back then I would kill it with everything I had and max out at about 120mph clubhead speed. Nowadays 120 feels like a nice and controlled 90%, while 115 feels really buttery.

[bunkerputt]

What helped me get over the no-lag problem was starting the downswing with a little squat into my left leg followed by turning the left pants pocket backward while the left leg is straightening. A lot of pros do this move, notably Tiger, and it generates a ton of power without having to time anything other than when to squat and when to turn. You should feel like your left leg is straight at impact with your left hip bone around 3-4" higher than your right. When I am doing this well, the club completely releases at the bottom so that there's almost no recoil. When I'm struggling with my transition (and probably my lag) I end up snapping the club against the back of my neck a lot.

[rothkin]

One simple tip I learned to create lag is to not even think about lag. Any good teacher will tell you that. However, if you are desperate for lag, you can just take it more inside. The farther inside you take, the more lag you create. Take those two tips into consideration and you will get lag no problem.

[AmenCorner]

It seems to me you have loaded the club a bit at the top of your backswing, you just need to maintain that lag on the way down. It appears as if you "unload" the club on your first move downwards which is a big no-no.

At the top, imagine you were throwing the butt of the club at the ball, that will help you start that downswing the proper way.

[beachbreak]

  None said:

At the top, imagine you were throwing the butt of the club at the ball

Yes! This is a simple swing thought and excellent.