Please help!!!! Don't like position at top of backswing

[chaptowngolfteam]

I really don't the position I am in at the top of my backswing, no matter what I do it seems to me that my left arm is just in the wrong place (too much against my chest). Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Sorry about my head being cut off, only have so much space in my dorm room.

[Chubbs]

Is there anything you don't like about your ball flight? Or is it just the look/feel of the top of your swing you're worried about?

It's hard to tell anything from that angle (1st video). Try propping your camera up on a big stack of books or something, to emulate the sightline someone might have if they were standing up behind you. right now it's like someone's crouching down, so it's hard to tell what the top of your backswing really looks like.

Or, maybe that's just me?

[nuttersandy]

The first video, I can tell that your triangle at the top is so narrow. It all starts from the beginning, you take the club on the outside and lift up pretty quick. You gotta make sure that you turn first and then when your club is parellel to the ground, THEN cock your wrist. At the top of the back swing I can see that your left wrist is cocked, not flat. IF you turn first, you shoudl get a wider triangle, and flatter wrist at the top.\


My $0.02

[Keep It Simple]

That is the weakest right hand grip I have ever seen !! Are you fighting a hook or something? This is most likely why the top of your back swing feels weird. There have been successful tour players who use a weak grip (Johnny Miller, Colin Montgomerie...) and play a fade, but generally a neutral to strong grip is better and more widely used. All of the really long hitters use a stronger grip.

[JGulkCG]

i wouldnt worry about your arms but your blade at the top of your swing. cant tell what it looks like from those looks.

[WUTiger]

As others have said, go outdoors to videotape your swing and get some standoff so we can see the full picture of your swing.

Can't tell if your club is parallel with swing line at top.

(I'm not in this one to give advice. I just want to see a full picture of your fairly fluid swing)

[Andrew Rice]

Cannot tell about the top of the backswing, but the grip is SUPER weak and there is too much upper body lateral move off the ball. Get the grip much stronger and steday yourself over the ball and the top position will feel, and look, better.
Cheers,

[atrapasuenos]

I agree with Andrew Rice and Keep it simple, your right hand grip is really weak but the left hand I think you can see two knuckles so your palms are not matching. When you miss, which is the ball flight?

Cheers!

[iammpspeer]

I cant see anything you are doing above your shoulders..

[chaptowngolfteam]

Hey guys, thanks for all the feedback. Sorry I wasn't able to respond to everything sooner, I have just been so busy with school. Since this latest video, I have changed my swing yet again (more like ernie els rhythm wise) and now my miss is a 20 yd. hook. Will post another video soon with the changes that I made.

Cannot tell about the top of the backswing, but the grip is SUPER weak and there is too much upper body lateral move off the ball. Get the grip much stronger and steday yourself over the ball and the top position will feel, and look, better.

Have fixed the grip issue, now the "v's" are pointing at my right shoulder, or so I think. Funny thing is that my miss was to the right and I could never figure out why. I have also tried and fix my upper body lateral movement, however, if I focus on not moving my upper body laterally, it feels to much s&t; for my taste.

As others have said, go outdoors to videotape your swing and get some standoff so we can see the full picture of your swing.

Will post another video soon, I try my hardest to have a very fluid swing, even if I don't like how it looks.

The first video, I can tell that your triangle at the top is so narrow. It all starts from the beginning, you take the club on the outside and lift up pretty quick. You gotta make sure that you turn first and then when your club is parellel to the ground, THEN cock your wrist. At the top of the back swing I can see that your left wrist is cocked, not flat. IF you turn first, you shoudl get a wider triangle, and flatter wrist at the top.\

I saw this too, and realized that I was taking the club back WAY outside. I have focused on making the triangle larger and taking the club back more on plane. For some reason, I feel that if I turn, then cock my wrists, I am not as fluid as I think I should be.

Is there anything you don't like about your ball flight? Or is it just the look/feel of the top of your swing you're worried about?

I was just worried about how my swing looked on video. Since I never got a lesson, or video taped my swing until recently, I relied mostly on feel. I did try and prop a camera up to eye level, and it looked the same to me.

[Nickynoodles]

I noticed a weak grip and all your weight is on your back leg. The grip thing is different for everyone and thats not a problem. But leaning back and puting all your weight on your back leg when hitting a iron is a big no-no. Your definitley a scooper and do not get backspin with that move. I really cant notice anything from the videos on where your at at the top of your swing. When swinging an iron you want more weight on your front leg. In backswing to get bend in front leg as you turn your hips and try to keep your back leg pretty straight. Hands infront of the ball at impact. That will improve your ball striking.

[chaptowngolfteam]

Alright, here is the updated video. I still notice that my grip is weak, but now I am hitting a consistent draw/hook unless I try and hold it off, but maybe my hands are too active through the impact zone. Sorry you probably still cant see my club at the top, but I did the best I could.

[Parker0065]

Just a couple comments:

First off I have to compliment your swing tempo, it's very good!

Secondly, I think your grip looks pretty good in your second set of videos. When it comes to Fading or Drawing the ball with a particular grip it's not only about having a Strong or Weak grip, but also about how you hold the club in your hands. The more your hold it in your fingers, the easier it is to turn your hands over to hit a draw and the more you hold it in your palms will reduce your hand action and promote a fade. I have a weak grip but I hold the club more in my fingers and my normal shot is a slight draw.

Anyways, I really like your swing, keep working on it and we may see you on TV someday

[chaptowngolfteam]

Just a couple comments:

Thanks for the complement and also the thought about holding the club more in the fingers vs. palms. I just recently focused more on holding it more in my fingers after I saw Mike Weir doing that in his pre-shot routine. That is when the draw started. Anyways, I believe that the only thing holding me back is my ability to learn by watching and therefore because I watch a lot of golf, I change my swing constantly leading to inconsistency. As soon as I can dial in a swing that I can't over-analyze and think too much about, then I should see my scores start dropping more dramatically. But this is not bad for taking up the game again 1 1/2 years after an 7 year lay off, and I am only 19.