Question for Ron del Barrio

[kfowler]

Hi Ron,

Welcome to The Sand Trap and am glad to see you've started posting there. I've enjoyed some of your golf tips as they have really made me question some of the old ways of thinking. One of particular interest is your thoughts on head movement.

Some background on me, I play around a 17 handicap. I was easily a 35 a couple of years ago but have worked my way down with lessons and practice. My Achilles' heal is my iron play. My misses usually come from not closing the club face at impact and have a moderate to strong fade.

No one has ever called me flexible so your video about rotating your head through impact really started to make me think. Even though conventional wisdom says to "keep your eye on the ball", I think I see why this is not necessary.

When starting your downswing and your shoulders start to rotate through, you're pretty much set in where the club is going to go with little chance of manipulating the club, assuming your spine angle remains constant. I also see how if your head rotates through, then your shoulders and chest fully release. This seems to be especially advantageous for someone with limited flexibility like myself.

I implemented this into my swing during two practice sessions at the range with great results. My fade turned into a nice draw and I was getting some of the best distance out of my clubs. I had one 7i go 160 yards which is easily 20+ yards better than my average. I was very excited about taking this to the course this weekend. (Disclaimer: I was hitting off mats all week but I can generally tell from a well or poorly struck shot.)

My results this Sunday were a disappointment. I had some well struck shots but I was very inconsistent, especially with my long irons.

I believe my issues come from two areas. One is picking my head up instead of rotating it around my spine. I need to video myself but I believe this to be a big issue. The second was sliding my head forward during the downswing. This has been old bad habit that likes to resurface.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you have. Thanks for your time.

Kevin

[Ron del Barrio]

Howdy Kevin,
Thank you for your warm welcome. It sounds like you have a handle on your swing issues and I'm not sure I read anything regarding you working with a pro or not? That being said, you should ask your pro the cause and effects of spine tilt change or lateral head movement. If you do not presently have a pro, if you have access to a video camera and can film your swing from straight on and from behind, you can either post it on yourtube or send it to me in an email and there is no question in my mind that I can answer all of your questions over the internet. (of course no charge)
Let me know if you will be able to film your swing and if not and you are working with a pro, I will give you some key questions to ask your pro so he can better serve you and make the improvements.
Regards,
Ron del Barrio

[kfowler]

Ron, thanks for the response. I really appreciate your time.

I've worked with two PGA instructors over the last couple of years. As recently as this spring. I typically don't take lessons during the summer. I'll try and video the swing and post it. Thanks again.

[mrserv0n18]

Wow Its Ron Del Barrio! I learned so much from the passive golf swing, I still use it for my Driver, 3wood and hybrid and rip em every time

[Ron del Barrio]

Howdy mrserv0n18,
I'm glad to hear that you were able to get some stuff from the videos! I have a bunch more coming soon. Feel free to fire away any questions.
Regards,
Ron

[zenabi]

Ron,

I'm a beginner in golf and have watched basically all your videos a few months ago. I actually have all of them in my iPhone as well.

A problem I am having right now is that my divots are very very shallow if at all. I know I'm not bottoming out before the ball that's for sure, however I am hitting the ball near the equator. This does not produce good results in that tops happen around 20% of the time. My question is, would it be possible that my arms are still not relaxed enough and thus preventing my arms to fully extend through the ball.

Thanks
Joe

[DukeNukem]

Ron: Thanks for saving my game and my mind ..As I've gotten older (52) I've lost the ability to make a full turn and follow through - while keeping my head back & down. A plethora of evil shots (Big blocks or snap hooks had been my faults) Once I started releasing my head as one movement with the rest of my body, my game returned! I so wish I had known about this teaching 30 years ago.

[Ron del Barrio]

howdy zenabi,
There could be a few things that would not allow you to have a descending swing and of course the first and most likely cause of the angle being lost is the grip and arm pressure changing on the downswing. Gravity will always do its job unless we inhibit that force. That being said if you remain consistant with your grip AND arm pressure, you want to make sure that on the downswing that you are rotating the body forward. Think of the breastbone as the bottom of the swing. If the breastbone is moving forward rotationally and is ahead of the ball at impact you should be able to trap the ball a little better. Try this;
The next time you are on the range, go to your normal set up and before you take your club back, lift your right heel off of the ground about an inch and then make your normal swing. This will inhibit any lateral movement off of the ball and promote a forward rotation on the downswing. Let me know if that was any help???
Cheers,
Ron

[Ron del Barrio]

Hi Dukenukem,
Thanks for that kind message. The good news about golf is that 52 years young is the new 20 something in relationship to golf!!! It's never too late

[DukeNukem]

Ron: I have found that making the same move with the driver, as with the other clubs (descending blow) yields the same great results. Are you familiar with Bobby Clampett's book on the "impact zone"? My problem has been getting stuck, because of reduced ability in timing the weight shift. Now that's a rarity with the driver...I stay centered, move left with release of the head, and bam - beautiful drives. I'm finally threatening the low 70's again.

[zenabi]

Thanks Ron.

Your trick helped me realize what I was doing. I had a tendency to stiff up my legs upon impact which in turn caused my shoulders to move away from the ball a bit. That's why no divots were formed. My swing is in progress right now. Results are showing though. I must say that your passive arms is really the Sh!t (sorry for the profanity... but it really is). I just started transitioning to it and I have seriously surprised myself quite a few times at the distances I get with a much "lighter" swing. What's amazing is that it works with all swings and clubs.

howdy zenabi,