Downloaded V1 basic to see my swing.

[SSJLaletas]

I just downloaded V1 basic to do my own unscientific mini analysis of my swing. My instructor has done this for me before but now that I have a real season under my belt and have seen a bunch of swings now my understanding of a good golf has come a long way. So I thought take that to my own, downloaded the software and went through the ropes to see my swing. Wow its ugly lol! I am terrible, and to think I broke 90 with that swing.



My shoulder turn looks like its dead flat no angle on it, I have no idea why I am doing that but that cause me to angle my spine severely to the target also causing my left knee to go towards the right knee and way down which looks like it causes me do dip down as well. Some way in hell I get myself in some sort of position to strike the ball. I have alot of work to do, plus some other stuff like overturn in the wrists, shaft going past parallel, etc.. Here is the same video, wow I suck lol, but to look on the bright side I have stuff to work on this year!

[SSJLaletas]

Also started to notice that my left arm bends enough to want to make a lot straighter that would probably improves things.

[Zeph]

Holy smoke, that is some serious bend on the left arm and left knee. You should record some down the line too, though you sure got enough to work on with the face on film.

Well, we all got something to struggle with. Important thing is you know it now, makes it way easier to work on.

[Gordon McTavish]

I thought you were a lefty when I first glanced at the still image!

[Zeph]

Yeah, that was my thought too, looked like the still photo was from your finish position.

[SSJLaletas]

I guess it would have been better for my self esteem if I was a lefty. I do have a bunch down the line and face on, self analysed both. Lots of work :) The only unfortunate thing is just have to wait for all the snow to melt.

[canes113]

I believe that's what the golf pro's call a "Reverse pivot". You should try to turn more at the hips on the backswing (left shoulder over right foot) and flatten out that swing a bit. It looks too steep and I bet from a down-the-line camera your club is pointing to the right of the target at the top of backswing. Good luck!!

[SSJLaletas]

It looks too steep and I bet from a down-the-line camera your club is pointing to the right of the target at the top of backswing. Good luck!!

Your right about that one of the many things Im going to have to tend to this season coming up, I think first and foremost I need to fix my shoulder plane turn. I think once I get that fix alot of the other issues I am having will get fixed or at least help some of them, practicing right now while waiting for the snow to melt just by doing some drills and having some chekpoints in my swing. Here is down the line just like you said right of target going outside in, yellow line repesents where my club angle originated and red line where my head height was at address, Im a hack :)!

[Zeph]

Each picture got its own letter, a to f.

a) Your setup is not too bad, only change I would make is getting the hands closer to the body. This will move you closer to the ball too.

b) First thing you do in the backswing is flip the club way back inside. Work on keeping the wrists still all the way through the swing, not flipping them and rolling the arms. The wrists should hinge, but not roll. When the club reach parallell to the ground, the clubface should be pointing down towards the ground at a 45º angle, this will keep it on plane.
Your hands also move out in front of the body, whereas you would want them to move to the inside, and then up. This must be combined with getting your hands closer to the body. The arms get on a high plane right away and never comes back down.

You could also push the left shoulder more down, rotating the upper body at a greater angle. You are very flat on the backswing. This is directly linked with the arms going out in front right away. Pushing the left shoulder down will push your hands to the inside.

c) Your right elbow goes flying out behind you, and the left elbow bends a lot. Easier to see on the face on video. I recommend getting the Swing Extender training aid. It prevents the right elbow from bending past 90º.

d) Here is where a lot of your problems start. The hands position on the top of the backswing is not too bad, but you swing the upper body and arms out from the top. Throwing them in front of your body. The yellow line shows that the club is already outside the ball. The red line shows how much you dip.

e) Clubhead outside the ball, as was unevitable from the position on picture d, so the only result is a swing over the top. Notice how the hips has moved very little from frame d to e, meaning it's the upper body only that provides power.

f) The club has moved from outside to inside the ball, over the top.

My tip would be to start with moving closer to the ball, working on the takeaway and just chip and hit small pitch shots, emphasizing hands takeaway and keeping quiet wrists. Learning how to hinge them properly. The extreme bend in knees and elbows you are better off working on after you've gotten the early part right. Try hitting slow shots to get the proper feeling of winding up the body without breaking at the joints. On small pitch shots, let the hips be the engine of your swing, just letting the arms and upper body trail behind, fighting the urge to throw the club at the ball.

The overswinging is easier seen on the face on video, but like I said, I recommend starting off with chipping and pitching.

[SSJLaletas]

I agree start with small swings half or quarter swings, working a drill to get my shoulders right, and the wrists I would probably put at the top in second in priority. Hopefully I have already made progress hard to tell without getting out there and taking video too, but thats not happening any time soon because of the weather. After that well see whats left, I would think some problems will go away, some will still remain, and I bet new ones will pop up, just gotta take it one at a time. Thanks yor you help Zeph Ill try miving close, and doing the chipping and pitching.

[david_wedzik]

Zeph - you seem like a guy who is very interested in the golf swing and why it works so I hope you understand the point I am going to make. Most of the "information" you have included here is correct but it will really end up counter productive to point out so many things at once. At the end of your post you did clarify where you think he should start but normally a student will read everything and try to do it all at one time.

Just my opinion but I believe the most important thing an instructor can do is to get at the priorities first to 1) improve the strikes and 2) improve the form...and try hard not to even mention anything else. Honestly, in this swing there are just a lot of extra movements which is why the swing looks a bit all over. I would have SSJLaletas focus on these things and nothing else right now: 1. The left knee flexes and the right knee straightens when done correctly. Just let that happen and keep the knees feeling as FAR APART as possible. Do some practice swings in a mirror and you will see that if you straighten the right knee and flex the left (while pretty much in place) they seem to separate away from each other. Not move towards each other. 2. In the backswing the hands go back, up and in in three dimensions. You have plenty of back and up and need more IN. Hit some balls feeling like you swing your hands IN only AND that your right arm is completely straight all the way back to the top. It will actually still bend a bit but it will need to feel completely straight to you. For a term we could call this "backswing" extensor action and it keeps the radius of the swing intact (the extreme bending of the right arms causes the bending of the left). So...your two very basic swing thoughts are: straighten the right and flex the left to SEPARATE the knees --- and --- hands ONLY in...right arm straight Start there - I know there are some other issues for sure including why you hit across the ball at about a 45 deg angle - those will be much easier to get at with some better positions to start. PM me if you are interested in working on this further as I would like to know to how quickly your motion would change with some simple things implemented. Dave

[SSJLaletas]

Thanks I appreciate your help, I do have an instructor that helps me routinely, I have some drills over the winter and really was just try to get in the knitty gritty trying to understand the golf swing. Being that it was my first real season last year I actually was pretty happy of how I progressed although the video probably doesnt support it :) Always curious to see what other people think and what methods and thoughts, so hopefully spring comes sooner or later! Thanks again.

[Zeph]

Zeph - you seem like a guy who is very interested in the golf swing and why it works so I hope you understand the point I am going to make. Most of the "information" you have included here is correct but it will really end up counter productive to point out so many things at once. At the end of your post you did clarify where you think he should start but normally a student will read everything and try to do it all at one time.

I see your point, which is why I suggested he started out with a couple of points. I am by no means an instructor, so my knowledge on teaching is fairly limited to what I've experienced myself and read on this forum. I can point out a lot of faults, but not always give suggestions on ways to fix it. I know that fixing more than one or two things at the same time won't work. It is partly why I didn't use his face on video, it would be a wall of text and difficult to gain anything from.

It is always easy to put myself in the situation of the one I'm trying to help. I manage to single out my largest problems and work on, but I see that when giving advice, others will take it differently. I have encountered problems before when analysing that I see and can point out a problem, but not advice on how to fix it. That is something I'll have to get better at. It is also why I try not to give too many tips on what to change, since I don't always know how. Pointing things out at least makes the golfer, and everyone else reading, aware of it. I also hope people will point out when I'm flat out wrong or should approach things differently. I am very interested in the swing, but nowhere near knowing as much as an instructor. As with everything, the student must decide which information to pay attention to and which to discard. We see get in magazines, on TV, internet, other golfers. When asking on a golf forum, one must realize that a lot of the information may be wrong and counter-productive. You've made several good points Dave, and I will consider them the next time. I really appreciate being corrected, how else am I going to learn? I'm not a good golfer myself, so everything I read and write in this forum is things I will encounter in my own swing. I was trying to find a way to work on the excessive left knee motion, but didn't find anything. Your tip about keeping them apart is good.

[luckyluke699]

Not sure if this will help or not, but here go my 2 cents on the right leg bend...

I was doing the same thing with my right leg. In my head I think I was trying to focus on swinging the club, rather than the resistance created between the hips/legs and the upper body. To remedy this, I went through a phase of working at the range and practising "locking" or tensing my right leg during the swing. This is clearly not good for ongoing play and caused me to not hit the ball as "well" for a while, but for a period it did allow me to feel that upper body "tension" created by moving the upper body, while keeping the lower body still on the upswing.

The result was that after a number of sessions doing this for a little, I could feel the upper body resistance needed, and my right leg thus did not bend. Not sure if this is a good or a bad way to get around this in the shorter term, but it worked for me! Hope it might help for you too...

[david_wedzik]

I see your point, which is why I suggested he started out with a couple of points. I am by no means an instructor, so my knowledge on teaching is fairly limited to what I've experienced myself and read on this forum. I can point out a lot of faults, but not always give suggestions on ways to fix it. I know that fixing more than one or two things at the same time won't work. It is partly why I didn't use his face on video, it would be a wall of text and difficult to gain anything from.

I learn new things about the swing EVERY day myself...sometimes in a forum, sometimes talking with another instructor and sometimes watching other sports. That is the great thing about the golf swing in general. As far as you not "knowing as much as instructor"...you would be surprised!

Dave

[Andrew Rice]

This dialogue should be read by everybody on the boards! Well said guys. We would all be so much better off as golfers by simplifying our thought process. More is very seldom better.

[SSJLaletas]

Update:

Finally with the winter behind us all had some weeks to work out some of the flaws out of my swing, obviously there was alot. I think I have made progress still have more to go, but curious to what you guys think I have solved and what is left. Thanks again for everyone who has contributed so far, for the most part this forum is just a class act.

[binga7]

Hi, must say v1 is a great tool, i have the home premium version too.
Just wondering how you did the side by side analysis, did you simply take screenshots then cut and paste into a drawing program???