My Swing Videos (Travtex)

[DavidFehertysBike]

I dunno...its not that bad of a swing. But you make a funny weight shift going back. I cant really explain it.

[Travtex]

Good range session today. It looks like the culprit has been my wrist hinge. I tweaked around with it to see when the clubface was opening, and there was a sort of cupping thing going on that seems to be concealed a bit by a somewhat weird grip on film. Hit quite a few solid straight shots, some slight pushes, and even a few pull hooks when I got handsy. Never been that happy to see a pull hook, haha.

Then I started pushing my irons. Jeez.

[Travtex]

Last few range sessions and last couple of rounds I've played there has been pretty much one consistent club in my bag. The 3 Wood.

I've become inordinately fond of my 3w in the process, of course. Love the weight, the feel and sound at impact is awesome, and most importantly I love the way it turns the 250 yard sign into a homing beacon for range balls. At the range just today one of the high school teams was out there practicing, banging drivers down the range. I'm keeping equal or better distance with my damn three wood.

The problem is... for that particular session I hit MANY more three woods than I normally would have because people started watching and I didn't want 'em to see what the OTHER clubs looked like. *laugh*

I don't GET it, though. How can I be so solid with THAT one club? One club in either direction and there are problems. Driver... I'll match my 3w for distance and accuracy maybe 10% of the time. Drop down to the 3 hybrid and things are a -little- better, but I'm still doing the fat/thin where the hell is THAT one going thing.

Irons? Improving, but inconsistent. Plenty of diving pull hooks. (Though I did make some progress today by shortening my swing waaaay down, again, and focusing on my legs... Aside: That 'quiet lower body' thing completely kills my swing. I'm almost all legs and the upper body is kinda drug along for the ride.)

Anyone have a similar issue where one particular club is sprinkled with magic whack-it dust and all the other clubs are horrifyingly inconsistent? What kind of swing would be solid with a 3 wood and craptastic with EVERYthing else?

If this keeps up, I might have to start putting with the stupid thing.

[alf174]

Its between your ears and its called confidence.

[Shindig]

I know someone who putts with his 5-Wood. Putt with it if it works. Mike Weir was doing pretty well with his hybrid during the PGA ('08, I think) when he broke his putter mid-round.

How fit for all your clubs are you? I wonder if your 3-Wood (and you've got a great fairway wood there!) is somehow different from the rest, and maybe the shaft/length/grip/whatever is the one that fits you perfectly. Kind of like asking you which iron you prefer, and basing the frequencies off that one. Or how Bobby Jones allegedly didn't like his 8-iron, and years later, it was found to be a different shaft flex than the rest.

In any case, if your 3-Wood goes far and is a preferred club, that's fantastic.

[Travtex]

Its between your ears and its called confidence.

I'm sure this has plenty to do with it.

[Travtex]

I know someone who putts with his 5-Wood. Putt with it if it works. Mike Weir was doing pretty well with his hybrid during the PGA ('08, I think) when he broke his putter mid-round.

Hah, being a bit facetious, there, but hey. Never know.

How fit for all your clubs are you? I wonder if your 3-Wood (and you've got a great fairway wood there!) is somehow different from the rest, and maybe the shaft/length/grip/whatever is the one that fits you perfectly.

I'm sure it's different. My driver to begin with is (I think) far too light. It has a PL Blue 45R in it that feels like a noodle. I think an R-flex -could- be Ok (I'm on the border, usually swinging in the 100 range) if it were heavier. The 3w is a Mizuno F60. Felt like a brick on a board by comparison when I got it. Now I like the heft/control.

Irons are uniflex, I think. 3DX Hybrid Irons stock... Uniflex in the irons, stiff shaft hybrids. I do know that I need to get them bent a degree flat at the least (Though not sure how much of a difference one degree would make). Kind of like asking you which iron you prefer, and basing the frequencies off that one. Or how Bobby Jones allegedly didn't like his 8-iron, and years later, it was found to be a different shaft flex than the rest. In any case, if your 3-Wood goes far and is a preferred club, that's fantastic.[/QUOTE]

[Travtex]

Finally got out to the range with an actual camera and tripod. Anyway, have some driver and seven iron swings front view and down the line. Having a problem with the hooks and pull hooks... Also have a pretty wicked tendency to block the driver.

Put four or five swings on each one for some consistency comparison. Thanks!

[Jay-Bird]

Your grip looks VERY strong - ease up on on the left hand (move the "V" right/clock wise) - you'll be hitting fades and straight balls in no time.

[Zeph]

Swing path doesn't look too bad, perhaps a bit over the top with the driver. But the primary cause for your hooks is probably, as Jay-Bird said, the extremely strong grip you got.

[Deryck Griffith]

I agree..your grip is SUPER strong. You should try swinging with a neutral grip and see what flight you get. If the flight starts pushing or moving left, then find a happy medium between your current super strong grip and neutral to get the ball going straight.

[RC]

Yep, super strong grip without the hold off finish will mean some pull hooks -- Azinger could get away with it, but you will likely not. While some of your swings are pretty much on plane, others are the classic come inside and drop under followed by a little over the top (not all.) You are not that far away from a reliable swing. You do each swing slightly differently, as evidenced by your knees at the finish. That tells me you are rotating and plane changing a lot to compensate for the closing clubface. When you get the push draw going, your knees will finish close together and in the same nice balanced position most swings.

[Titleist_ProV1x]

Agreed, your grip is the problem, move the left hand on top of the right more

[saevel25]

The issue i have is your right arm forms a straight line with the club, I think you will have to change that if you go to a weaker grip, because your left hand will overtop the club more, and you will have to flatten out the shoulder angle there

[PingGKEN]

Does it also seem like the OP loses the spine angle on the back swing (dips down), and then loses the "tush line" on the downswing? Sorta crowding the ball, almost not enough room for the hands to get through impact? These are 2 things that I'm actually fighting in my swing that my pro has pointed out to me many times.

[Travtex]

Consensus seems to be 'Weaken the Grip', haha.

Is that just with the left hand, though? I was tinkering a bit before work, and everything I seem to do with my right hand puts the club more into the palm than the fingers.

[RC]

To weaken your grip, your left thumb could be either at 12:00 O'clock (on top of the grip) or 1:00 O'clock (slightly to the right of the top) on the grip, then the right hand fits so both your "V"s point somewhere between your right ear and at most the right shoulder. Make sure the club is held with the grip under the fat pad of the left hand. You should be able to hold the club toe up and level in front of you with the left hand alone, and release all your fingers but the index finger (trigger finger) and the club should remain difficult to pull out of your hand. If the club slides out of your hand, it is too much in the palm. That's my take Travtex.

[Travtex]

To weaken your grip, your left thumb could be either at 12:00 O'clock (on top of the grip) or 1:00 O'clock (slightly to the right of the top) on the grip, then the right hand fits so both your "V"s point somewhere between your right ear and at most the right shoulder. Make sure the club is held with the grip under the fat pad of the left hand. You should be able to hold the club toe up and level in front of you with the left hand alone, and release all your fingers but the index finger (trigger finger) and the club should remain difficult to pull out of your hand. If the club slides out of your hand, it is too much in the palm. That's my take Travtex.

Okay -- I was suffering a bit of lefty-righty syndrome working out what everyone was saying. Tinkered with it a bit yesterday -- My right-hand grip check is as you say. Hold it solidly with only the index finger and then just close the fingers. I was just overrotating and my -left- hand grip was creating that super-strong straight-line with the right arm and club.

(Now just to find some range time. Might say screw it and hit the course... costs the same to play nine as it does for a bucket of balls comparing closest range to closest course.)