Critique My Swing

[Griffin]

Hey guys lately my swing has felt very off and when looking at it I know there are plenty of things that need work, but I don't know exactly what and how to work on it.

I usually shoot 43-48, but lately have been shooting sometimes in the 50's and I feel like I'm incredibly inconsistent and I've been having very bad ball striking. It looks like I have a really flat and handsy swing, N unstable head, a body dip, and I'm swinging behind myself. I'm not really sure though, but it's very frustrating knowing I can swing and play better. Please if you could tell me what I'm doing wrong, but also more importantly tell me how to fix it or change it via drills or tweaking my swing.

I'll post more videos with other clubs later.

Thank you!

[tterrag]

On your backswing, you are too flat, therefor you over correct and come slightly over the top on the downswing. You also have a slight reverse pivot. A combination of these flaws may produce high weak fades. Try coming more outside on the downswing, and dropping it in the slot. This will give you so much more distance.
Hope this helps,
Garrett

[Phil McGleno]

On your backswing, you are too flat, therefor you over correct and come slightly over the top on the downswing. You also have a slight reverse pivot. A combination of these flaws may produce high weak fades. Try coming more outside on the downswing, and dropping it in the slot. This will give you so much more distance.

Garrett, you're a decent player, but please hold off on the instruction... just as not every good player can design a golf course, not every good player can be an instructor. Look at Nick Faldo...

(Heck, not every good instructor can be a good instructor - look at Hank and the guy whose name I "borrowed" on this forum ). I don't advise any player to have a loop in their swing. It's inconsistent, it varies with each club, and there's no point as any energy spent looping is not energy spent driving the club into the back of the golf ball. It's going to be three things, and a common three things at that... 1) You dramatically flip the club behind the ball. Look here and read up on iacas's "deep hands" or "inward hands" or whatever he calls it: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...l=1#post407984 2) You're not too flat, but you do let your right elbow break down, and that's when your swing goes long... Push the right arm away to maintain a good angle (90 degrees or more) in your right arm. 3) Coming down, drive the left knee down and forward and straighten the right leg. You've got a lot of good things to work with. But start with 1, get that down, and then move on to the next step. If you can do each in a week that's amazing progress, so take your time and really cement them in before moving on.

[tterrag]

This is just the feeling, obviously he doesn't want to loop it dramatically, but you do want your downswing to hit the slot. Maybe your doing something wrong? Also, correcting the reverse pivot will correct his "casting" move, its all cause and effect. A one plane swing is impossible, you can make the difference between the back and downswing, but you cannot stay on the same line.

[Oaksgolfer]

Also something that helped me when i first started is to push your hands forward in your stance... and keep the ball on your back foot for your 9 and 8

[saevel25]

Definitely flat, about halfway up in your backswing, the butt end of your club is pointing some 6 feet outside the golf ball. You want that club to be more on a swing plane that is pointing at the ball. The swing though i am use to is pointing the club head to the sky as you take your backswing. I doubt you will get to Jim Furyk's club plane, which is almost vertical. But your so flat this will help take that away.

Your right foot comes off the ground to early for me. Usually you want it to have your right heal just barely coming off the ground at impact. I think are using so much arms in this swing. Your not getting your weight to your right side in the backswing. Though you don't do what most people do, you don't dip to the right in your downswing, but your loosing alot of power and consistency.

[Griffin]

1) You dramatically flip the club behind the ball. Look here and read up on iacas's "deep hands" or "inward hands" or whatever he calls it:

To Mr. Harmon : I've been working almost exclusively on #1 all night and will continue throughout the week. #1 allows me to shift my weight better, swing smoother, and it just feels right. Thank you very much for taking the time to help me out!

Thank you to everyone else for giving me tips and your own insight. I'm hitting the driving range tomorrow and will have a few new videos to hopefully show off what I've learned

[killerduck]

apart from the flat backswing, I mean, who cares? Lots of pros have a flat swing (Miguel.....)

I don't know if anyone's pointed this out, but....

at address, your hands are behind the ball. I was doing the same thing!!! Try getting you hands out infront of the ball at address, and maintaining that wrist cock shape through the backswing.
Also, where is your centre of balance? It's hard to see from the video, but I know I was REALLY on my toes (leaning forward). I recently moved the weight back towards my heels and INSTANTLY made better contact. Think of the back heel, mine would come up, and my knee would move almost directly infront of me...
I moved my weight back and me heel now stays down a lot more through impact, and my knee moves toward the target. And MOST pro's have that in their swing.

I may have rambled on a bit here, but I think the hand position could help you the most, the soonest.
Gotta get those hands slight infront of the ball at impact....

One drill for this (this is all 2nd hand information from the pro that teaches me) is practice hitting 3/4 punch shots the "right" way. Slightly open your stance, ball in the middle of your feet, and keep the weight on your front foot. But most importantly, don't cock the wrists. Use you body to lift the club up, and hit the ball. Your hands will be infront of the ball at impact. When I do this I might be 2 clubs shorter than normal, but the contact is good. The flight is lower (it's a punch shot) but it's also more penetrating.

I've lost 4 shots off my average since I started working on this (3-4 weeks ago)

Good luck

[Phil McGleno]

This is just the feeling, obviously he doesn't want to loop it dramatically, but you do want your downswing to hit the slot.

Garrett, he wouldn't need to "hit the slot" if his club doesn't leave the slot to begin with. "Dropping" is a waste of energy and takes more timing than I often find worthwhile.

Also, correcting the reverse pivot will correct his "casting" move, its all cause and effect.

He doesn't reverse pivot.

A one plane swing is impossible, you can make the difference between the back and downswing, but you cannot stay on the same line.

You don't seem to understand what a one-plane swing is, or enough about the golf swing to comment with any authority. Again, you know your swing (less well than you think, I'd bet) but not "the golf swing" in general.

It's entirely possible to deliver the club on the same plane from the top of the backswing down to the ball. 100% entirely possible. And a lot of pros and good players do it. But that's not what we call a one-plane swing, either. Please let this guy learn. He's working on not flipping and rolling the clubhead behind his rear end right now, it seems, and he should continue to work on that. More Rickie Fowler takeaway, less... of what he's doing.

[Griffin]

Hey guys,

I found a drill where I take my normal stance with my butt against a wall (my garage) and swing. This drill stops me from rolling/flipping the clubhead, because it can't go behind me. I think it's really starting to pay off and teaching me to stop flipping/rolling. I'll post another video of my swing tonight so we can see if it's really helping or not.

P.S. I'm wrapping my clubhead in a towel. I'm not that crazy!