What is wrong with my swing?!

[McIlroy_man]

Ive been going through a progressive swing change over the past 10 months or so with a very highly held pro who i know through work. He teaches a few tour pros like Andrew Coltart, Lloyd Saltman etc.

Anyway he has grooved me into a pretty good backswing as i used to be very flat and shut at the top. Due to this i held off through impact to try and keep the clubface square. My left shoulder was very high and i jumped off the ground at impact . Anyway the backswing is now pretty good although i do tend to sway slightly.

However my point is that i am now coming down very steep from the outside through impact and still having to hold off and am still coming off the ground.(this causes me to take no divot whatsoever and i have no distance control because the strike isnt right, even though i tend to keep it straight) He keeps showing me videos of Ernie Els who i now have a similar back swing too but he comes in much flatter on the downswing than me. Whenever i try to come in a bit flatter i ping the ball off miles right or even shank it!!! its getting to the stage where when i try to come in flat its a 50% shank rate!!! And its embarrassing, especially when i get pumped 6&5 in team matches and let everyone down.

Any ideas what would be causing this?

Also when i try and stay down on the ball and take a divot i either top it or shank it. Its infuriating and i dont understand what im doing wrong

[MiniMoe]

First thing is first... it does not really matter what you do on the back swing as long as the club points down the target line with good extention at waist high after impact and you are balanced. If you get to that point, I don't think you can be too steep in the downswing. So first thing is to focus on the follow through.

Next, on the back swing, keep the triangle that if formed between your forearms and the club connected to almost waist high. That means you take the club and arms back as one unit, not rolling the wrists, just taking the club back in the same position as it is at address. From there the shoulders will start to turn, and the forearms will roll a little. The wrists do not control this roll, it is a arm roll and a very natural movement. The wrists set naturally at the top of the back swing as the shoulders slow the turn and the arms can't go back any farther. It is a sequence of movements. The shoulders can't turn any more, but the arms continue the backswing. When they stop, the wrists give (set) as the club moves into the correct position. From there all you have to do is fire down the target line, focusing on holding the face square with your hands.

See, the arms control the swing, but the hands control the club face. The power in generated by the angel between the hands and the arms, but the hands don't control this angle, it is the arms that control everything.


OK... so the simple answer is to only focus on the follow through. At waist high, the club should be pointing at the target with the arms extended. If you hit it right or left from there, then your face angle is off and not square. Think about it, the ball starts on the line the club is swinging, then curves from there based on face angle.

Hope this helps. It's hard for me to explain what I feel and sense in the swing, but I'm trying show how simple a golf swing can be.

[Joejoe26]

I'm sort of scared to give advice to people who have better handicaps than me but i'll give my input. I believe everyone's swing is unique because it is definitely all about feel. Even though a lot of swings might look the same, the feeling could be completely different between players. As I was reading Minimoe's advice, I knew exactly what he was talking about, however, concentrating on the arms got me into trouble. I think about the shoulders starting the swing and the arms and hands are just along for the ride. If you disect the swing, the arms and shoulders are actually connected to each other and one cant move without moving the other. So it just really comes down to feel. By the way, awesome handicap Minimoe.

McIlroy Man, I think this is a time to get your swing analyzed on video. You might be swinging off your swing plane and that can make a HUGE difference. Plus, you are probably freaking out about your swing which can actually make it worse. With a 2 handicap you ARE a good golfer so I doubt that your swing can really be that jacked. Like I said, go and get your swing analyzed and see if you are off your swing plane.

[MiniMoe]

I have had my swing analyzed. They guys told me I was off plane a little, but I was not laid off. But being a +4 handicap, and hit the ball straighter than any other person I have ever seen, I do not think I need to change. I have always keyed on swinging the club square down the line. I have never cared what I look like on the back swing. From impact to waist high after impact, the club is square and not off line.

I don't have the ability (knowledge) to take the video I have and edit it down to put on on the web. By brother just got a good vid camera so I'm going to take some shots and post them in the next few weeks. You would be amazed at how a guy with a swing that looks like mine can hit the ball so freaking straight and long. I know it's not perfect, but perfection to me is hitting it close, not what my swing looks like.

[Joejoe26]

ooops, i'm sorry. I made a mistake with my last post. The analyzed video tip was actually for Minimoe and the compliment was for you McIlroy Man. I'm going to edit it.

[cphpaco]

Though u may hav an ideal backswing now, ur downswing is definitely ur biggest problem. I'd imagine that ure probably arriving into the ball on an outside-in path which results in the shanks. This is much to do with u dropping and driving ur right shoulder into the ball trying to hit it harder and gain distance. be more aware of ur downswing keep it outside-in, as an exaggeration, ur up and down swing should seem identical, and if ure trying to gain more distance, use a wider swing and release ure wrists just before impact. :) hope it helps

[MiniMoe]

from what I have seen, most shanks are caused from coming too far from the inside to out, not really outside to in.

[McIlroy_man]

Ive actually booked in for a video analysis with my coach on Wednesday.

From past videos i've seen of my swing i do come back down on an outside to in swing path as according to my coach i initiate the downswing with my arms and try to hit the ball from the top instead of clearing my lowerbody out the way first. I believe the shanking must be coming from me trying to hold off the club head to try and keep it square and not just releasing it and pull hooking everything. I think i just need to get to the top and then let my body turn and drop the arms into the plane, then try and 'hit' the ball when the club gets to about waist height then release my hands through impact.

I'm going to go to the range tomorrow and hit a 100 balls with my 6 iron and work on some of the ideas youve mentioned and see what works. I'l keep you posted on how it goes.

cheers for the input so far guys

[enarhi]

The Vijay Singh drill should serve you well. Put a glove/headcover etc. in your left armpit and keep it there through the downswing. With an Els-esque backswing the right elbow stays quite close to the body.

This means that the right elbow must stay close to the body on the downswing to keep the swing on plane. Let that elbow drift away from the body and your whole backswing will be rendered obsolete, leading to an off-plane swing through the ball and amplified inconsistency.