In search of a swing thought

[blackxpress]

Now that the golf course is covered in snow I've been spending quite a bit of time at the range and have finally made a major breakthrough with my swing. After years of struggling with distance and poor contact, I've discovered what I knew all along but was never able to put into practice. Everybody knows that you're supposed to start your downswing with the lower body. We've all known that at least since Ben Hogan wrote his "Five Fundamentals." I've never been able to do it though, until now. I've figured out that if I can get to the top of the backswing and then concentrate on finishing with my belly button facing the target I hit the ball very well (and far). Trouble is, I still can't do it consistently. If I can forget completely about swinging the club and focus instead on getting my hips around, the swing seems to take care of itself. In fact, when I can do that I experience something that I've never experienced before. CLUBHEAD LAG! Woohoo! As far as consistency is concerned, about 50% of the time I end up letting my hands get ahead of my body and the results are, well, horrible. I know what I'm doing wrong which is overswinging. Not sure if I need a different swing thought or if I just need to keep practicing with the one I've got. What I need is a surefire way to focus on turning my body and letting my hands go along for the ride. Anybody got any helpful suggestions?

[MiniMoe]

that's not a bad swing thought. I always believe the more simple the swing thought, the better you can do. My left knee starts toward the target before the back swing is even finished (actually, the moving of the left knee is what sets the angle for my wrists at the top). After that, all I do is swing down the line. I like simple.

[zenchili]

Try imagining that at the top of your backswing your left arm becomes glued to your chest. Since you can't start the swing with the arms this way, it allows you the opportunity to start it with your lower body turning. It is an image that Ben Hogan also talked about in Five Lessons, and one that I have found very helpful.

[blackxpress]

Thanks, zenchili. I read Hogan's book but it's been a long time. I need to read it again, I guess.

[mrt10x]

Swing hard and look up quick to see where I hit it.. works 1% of the time.

[xTsUnAmI]

I'm in a pretty similar situation to yours. Trying to teach myself to lead with my hips, but the swing thought that has me doing this the best is "set your wrists". For me, I get to the top and my wrists aren't straight but I'm not close to having the club parallel to the ground. I never had much problems as long as I have my upper half follow my bottom half. By making sure I "set my wrists" (whatever that actually means) I actually start my hips before the wrist setting action is done. Basically it gives me a mechanism to have my arms lag behind my body. This has worked great for me, last 3 trips to the range I've eliminated my pull hook/big driver fades and by having more lag in my wrists I've gained some yardage as well. Hope my shitty explanation makes sense.

[RIduffer]

I'm in a pretty similar situation to yours. Trying to teach myself to lead with my hips, but the swing thought that has me doing this the best is "set your wrists". For me, I get to the top and my wrists aren't straight but I'm not close to having the club parallel to the ground. I never had much problems as long as I have my upper half follow my bottom half. By making sure I "set my wrists" (whatever that actually means) I actually start my hips before the wrist setting action is done. Basically it gives me a mechanism to have my arms lag behind my body. This has worked great for me, last 3 trips to the range I've eliminated my pull hook/big driver fades and by having more lag in my wrists I've gained some yardage as well. Hope my shitty explanation makes sense.

Makes sense. Sounds like a loading action of the club that helps you sequence the downswing better. I just took a couple practice swings doing this, and it feels really powerful- lots of lag. When I'm warmed up and feeling in the zone, I think this is the way I tend to swing. But it feels tough to control at other times.