Throwing the club

[Eagle x 4]

Okay, so this isn't a post about actually throwing the club but rather the feeling of swinging the club like you are trying to throw it down the range as far as you can -- particularly with the driver. For the past year or so I've been a consistent fader/slicer of the golf ball and have battled the dreaded over-the-top move. I started playing a couple of years ago so this is pretty typical for new golfers.

Well today, I think I had a major breakthrough. A good friend of mine, who happens to be a 0 handicap, told me to think about throwing the club down the range. I took a few practice swings thinking about that and started feeling the differences in how the club was swinging. I was keeping my weight back and not sliding forward and really lagging the club. My path felt like it was coming from the inside. It was sort of a mental breakthrough. I realized that it was virtually impossible to get club head speed by swinging over the top. I hit a few balls with this new swing thought and right away it was apparent that something was different. I was hitting high draws, straight shots, and hooks. I was hitting it about 40-50 yards further than I normally do. No more fades or slices. It was incredible. I spend over 3 hours at the range and nearly pulled my back out because I ended up hitting so many balls.

My bad shots (with the driver) would start out right and never really draw. They were still pretty well hit but they just wouldn't turn over. My bad shots with my irons were fat shots. That was the one thing I noticed with the irons is that I was hitting a lot more fat shots than normal. I'm not sure why that started happening when I was trying to swing the club like this. Any suggestions on why this is now happening and how to fix it?

I guess my question is...is it really possible to have a major breakthrough like this over such a simple swing thought? For the past year, I've tried so many different things to get the club in the right path but this is the one though that has really made sense. I'm terrified that I'll go to the range tomorrow and not be able to hit the ball like this again but at the same time I feel like if I just keep thinking about throwing the club then it should be fine.

[canes113]

Sounds like you're now releasing the club and squaring the clubface at impact so no more fades or slices. Yeah, its totally possible that a simple swing thought can do it for you... for me it was a high finish after impact promoting a better release. It still works for me today.

[tm22721]

Okay, so this isn't a post about actually throwing the club but rather the feeling of swinging the club like you are trying to throw it down the range as far as you can -- particularly with the driver. For the past year or so I've been a consistent fader/slicer of the golf ball and have battled the dreaded over-the-top move. I started playing a couple of years ago so this is pretty typical for new golfers.

This is exactly what Fred Shoemaker documented in 'Extraordinary Golf'. Amateurs threw clubs at a target and after a few dozen attempts he recorded their swings. Their dynamics and positions mimicked tour pros. Of course when they tried it with a ball it was right back to a flippy swaying OTT mess.

So what is the secret to retaining the feel of throwing a club with a ball in front of you ?

[Eagle x 4]

This is exactly what Fred Shoemaker documented in 'Extraordinary Golf'. Amateurs threw clubs at a target and after a few dozen attempts he recorded their swings. Their dynamics and positions mimicked tour pros. Of course when they tried it with a ball it was right back to a flippy swaying OTT mess.

Well, for me that swing thought has helped tremendously. Sure, things still go wrong in my swing, but I have gone from a fade/slicer to a draw/hooker literally overnight. It's been absolutely amazing. I've added about 40 yards to my drives. I'm gonna run with this thought as long as I can. It just puts me in a much better position.