Swing Plane study (vids)

[Ben]

Been working on getting on plane a lot lately. Saw some pictures of me and I was far too upright. My swing though is to swing to my heels. I think these look alright. How about you? First video is one 3-iron swing. The second is 3 GW swings

[CalBoomer]

The wedge looks on-plane. The 3-iron could be a bit more horizontal. Try using a mirror. It gives you more immediate feedback on how a given swing plane feels when you are trying to get as close to on-plane as possible. But who am I to give advice to a +2.5 handicap?

[mc0388]

First off, your an excellent golfer, and that my friend is hard to become...


It seems that you let your back foot 'flop' over for your finish without any drive. Its hard to tell how your weight transfer is without a front view. How far do you hit your typical 5 iron?

You have a very simple, effective swing. Besides swing plane, is there anything your were looking to do better?

[TN94z]

I don't have anything to offer other than....Man I LOVE the sound of a ball hit correctly!!!

[jaragon126]

Love your tempo! Looks fine to me, but again ... who am I to give a +2 handicap any advice

[Ben]

The wedge looks on-plane. The 3-iron could be a bit more horizontal. Try using a mirror. It gives you more immediate feedback on how a given swing plane feels when you are trying to get as close to on-plane as possible. But who am I to give advice to a +2.5 handicap?

I wish I had the space for a mirror room. But, I don't. I was checking my swing in the gym yesterday though. I'm pretty pleased with what I see in these videos.

First off, your an excellent golfer, and that my friend is hard to become...

Thanks.

I'm not terribly concerned about the foot thing. I do have a funky move. But, you can also say that Payne Stewart had a similar move. Personally, I don't equate drive nor distance with my right side. What I use for myself, and the students I teach, is that power comes from the left hip, and compression comes from the left wrist. 5 iron: 195 is my max.

[rebby]

Maybe a touch upright with the 3-iron, but not much at all. I think that it looks pretty good. That camera angle with the wedge is deceiving though, it almost looks as if you're really crowding the ball. The more that I view it though the more I attribute that to the angle of the video, especially since you're doing a great job of getting through the ball.

What are you attempting to correct by adjusting your swingplane? I have a tendency to get to upright myself which, for me, cause a number of annoying swing faults. Typical for MN though, just as I'm starting to get it figured out and understand what I'm doing enough to make the necessary changes, the weather goes to crap and the season is about over. Next spring will bring about new "deficiencies" likely due to the type of practice that I'm able to accomplish indoors.

Anyway, I'd be very interested in what your (previous) more upright swingplane was doing to your ball flight and how that has changed now. Additionally any minor (or major I suppose) tendencies that the more upright swing was causing would be interesting to hear about as well. Thanks!

[surfdude]

"..power comes from the left hip, and compression comes from the left wrist"

Aha! This dovetails nicely with the "Slide your hips!" thread (I've been reading and trying to "get" and trying to work on in my practice sessions) .. have to make this a new mantra!

Thanks!

[Ben]

What are you attempting to correct by adjusting your swingplane? I have a tendency to get to upright myself which, for me, cause a number of annoying swing faults. Typical for MN though, just as I'm starting to get it figured out and understand what I'm doing enough to make the necessary changes, the weather goes to crap and the season is about over. Next spring will bring about new "deficiencies" likely due to the type of practice that I'm able to accomplish indoors.

I'm very heel heavy in regards to ball contact on the clubface. Heel heavy also leads to shanks. I feel that when I was upright, I also had a tendency to get on my toes, which can lead to shanks, which was not common with the majority of my irons, but would creep into my wedges every now and then. The picture here is where this all clicked...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...b/CIMG1652.jpg I'm super upright, and way on my toes. Granted I hit this shot to about 8 feet, but, with this picture I was able to diagnose my problem.

"..power comes from the left hip, and compression comes from the left wrist"

I'd change the mantra to "twist" as opposed to "slide". When I hear/read "slide" I'm thinking laterally sway. My twist leads the hands to the ball and creates clubhead speed without trying to overpower the swing.

[DBeane]

My thoughts:

*Set up is critical. If your set up is off, that can throw you off the scent if your looking for a solution to a problem (especially a swing plane issue)

*You seem to crowd the ball a bit. I prefer to see the hands more under the chin. If you look at Els and Hogan at address (I mention those two for height contrast). Both of them have quite a bit of air between the butt end of the club and the zipper on their trousers. This will give you more room to get back on plane.

*I also prefer weight to be on the balls of ones feet. You can get into trouble if there is too much weight on your heels at address (this seems to cause some periodic movement with ones body that can be problamatic, I didnt necessarily see this in the video, but you mentioned some heel strikes).

Conclusion, check you set up. I think you will find setting up a little better will make it easier to revise your swing plane.

-Beane

[JetFan1983]

Ben is one of the best posters on this site hands down. His "left hip, left wrist" advice has changed my swing. After reading some of his posts (and I lot of hard work at the driving range), I went from hittibg 130 yard 7-irons to 155 yard ones. I caught a flyer out of the rough the other day that carried 165 yards or so but I really went after that one. My handicap hasn't improved at all but I missed the past five months due to an unrelated injury. It was pretty bad timing because I got hurt just when my new Ben swing started to become muscle memory.

Now I am healthy again though and my swing hasn't really lost much of a beat despite the huge lay-off. I went out and shot 93 on my first 18 hole round back (last weekend) and I lost most of my shots by duffing multiple short game and putting opportunities- not chunking or topping iron or tee shots.

It's too bad winter is right around the corner, but I feel enormous strides in lower scores are now within arm's reach. Thanks, Ben. I love being able to pull out my 56 degree sandwedge from 100 yards out and feeling confident. This is new, exciting territory for me. Cheers.

PS- I love the tempo of those videos. I was pulling too hard with my left hip for a while there, but watching the way you swing is reminding me to not be "too jerky" with my downswing.

[right handed phil mickelson]

hot damn I love your swing :)

[Ben]

Ben is one of the best posters on this site hands down. His "left hip, left wrist" advice has changed my swing. After reading some of his posts (and I lot of hard work at the driving range), I went from hittibg 130 yard 7-irons to 155 yard ones. I caught a flyer out of the rough the other day that carried 165 yards or so but I really went after that one. My handicap hasn't improved at all but I missed the past five months due to an unrelated injury. It was pretty bad timing because I got hurt just when my new Ben swing started to become muscle memory.

Wow, jeez, there's a Ben swing? That's cool. I'm glad I've been able to inspire. You can also send all donations to my paypal account... hahaha. And thanks, RHPM

[KwSipp]

Whats up ben, nice swing you have there! If there is any way you could get a face on view that would be great, I would just like to see how long you maintain lag and what your impact posi looks like. Thanks alot man.

[deronsizemore]

Great looking swing.

Obviously you know the golf swing and likely know more than I, but to me it looks like you're standing too close to the ball in the videos which in would make your swing more upright.

[mc0388]

I'd change the mantra to "twist" as opposed to "slide". When I hear/read "slide" I'm thinking laterally sway. My twist leads the hands to the ball and creates clubhead speed without trying to overpower the swing.

This 'swing type' is also very effective for distance control (Oddly enough your 'twist' was the subject matter of my only professional lesson!)...