Top High Handicapper Mistake

[MMouse]

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.

As a high capper I agree with this and wrking on it has improved my game HUGELY.

In addition I always found a lack of any kind of distance using the arms, which lead to overswinging, which lead to all kinds of problems. Just by focusing on a smooth swing using my body, I have become more consistent and gained distance to the point where this past weekend I was overshooting greens because I thought the club I had would "get close, or on " and instead went too far. All while swinging much smoother and easily that previously.

[HytrewQasdfg]

As a high capper I agree with this and wrking on it has improved my game HUGELY.

What compounds an "arms swing" as being the biggest problem (imho) is that when someone tries to switch from an arms driven swing to a body driven swing at first you are really, really bad. Not many people can handle taking a huge step backwards so they can start moving forward again, so they go back to the arms swing which "at least was working" (even if working poorly).

[Zeph]

The swing is not all body and it is not all arms, it is a combination of both. The arms are jointed to the body, if they don't swing, they won't be able to catch up merely by gravity and the pull.

[stacks04]

For me I feel I would be more consistent if I concentrate on good solid smooth swing, but i tend to unconsciously swing for the next town over. When it does come together, my drives are nice. It is getting better as my play time goes up, so i know its more of a training thing with me. I also feel more confident when I start a hole nice. This past week my pro lesson taught me something about ball striking with my irons, and my driver, but I really tried to make up for bad drives with good iron work. Which i did very nicely. More than anything, confidence is a huge determining factor in how well high cappers and or newbs play. Alot contributes to that, but not the right thread to elaborate.

[HytrewQasdfg]

The swing is not all body and it is not all arms, it is a combination of both. The arms are jointed to the body, if they don't swing, they won't be able to catch up merely by gravity and the pull.

There is a school of thought that says the arms and wrists should be 100% passive on the downswing.

"The Golfing Machine" (which is a good catalog of golf techniques, but not a good instructional book imho) divides swing types into hitters (arms oriented) and swingers (body oriented). Most people fall somewhere in between, but in its pure form swingers don't manipulate the arms on the downswing at all. They simply use the large muscles of the body to whip the arms around. Greater minds than mine can explain the differences and details, but the "modern" golf swing is much, much closer to the swinger style then the hitter style.

[Shanks A Million]

Hitting the big ball before the little one.

I was at the range once, and there's this German guy that comes down a lot and plays (there's TONS of Germans where I live on the west coast), and we were hitting balls on the range. I was working on some weight shift, and we were talking. I swung at one, and my right leg just sort of came out, and I hit it really fat.

This guy, in his super thick German accent, says, "You hit ze big ball before ze little one." I just stood there like... What? And then suddenly I got the joke, and I just busted out laughing.

The swing is not all body and it is not all arms, it is a combination of both. The arms are jointed to the body, if they don't swing, they won't be able to catch up merely by gravity and the pull.

The ratio is what's off. The good ballstriker's arms will be led by the body, while the bad ballstriker's body will be led by the arms. In scientific studies of tour pros, the arms they say did about 20% of the work.

There is a school of thought that says the arms and wrists should be 100% passive on the downswing.

From what I've read, Kelly talks of an "arms controlled pivot", in which the right forearm, leads the body back. I think that's OK, but the arms can't really do the work, you'll never hit it long or consistent that way.

What compounds an "arms swing" as being the biggest problem (imho) is that when someone tries to switch from an arms driven swing to a body driven swing at first you are really, really bad. Not many people can handle taking a huge step backwards so they can start moving forward again, so they go back to the arms swing which "at least was working" (even if working poorly).

You've latched on to the same concept I've preached here. I think this lack of discipline is a major factor in most people's way. They can't accept that they have to be uncomfortable, and get worse before they get better. Heck, most of us have dated and had sex, and at first, it's very uncomfortable, not knowing what to do, feeling awkward, being rejected, getting crushed, but in the end it's worth it. After that first time, we just can't wait to go back again. Same thing.

[GDIB_net]

not understanding how to use the clubface to make the ball go where you want it to go and how you want it to get there.Good luck. GDIB

[acegolfer]

I think most golfers including myself know what their swing faults are. Unfortunately, we can't fix them all at the same time. The biggest problem for high handicappers and probably for all golfers is lack of improvement plans. Specifically, we need to know which one to work on first.

[ks8829]

1) They spend more time playing then practicing
2) They spend practice time hitting the long clubs and less time on putting and chipping

[HackerD]

One more observation about high cappers and I count myself among them: the proper swing can be physically uncomfortable. Inside-out swing / inverted C is harder on the lower back than just swinging with your arms. Full turn / getting hands far from your head on the backswing also is an uncomfortable stretch.

[iacas]

1) Lousy contact. Fat, thin, toe, heel...

2) Not enough power.

3) Lack of control of the curve.

That's it. I've yet to meet a high handicapper who can do two of those things. 5% of the time you'll find one who can do one of the things, and 100% of the time that's #2 - they just have no idea where it's going to go and they don't hit it solidly with every club. When they do hit it, they hit it hard though. But again, that's 5%, and I may be overstating that percentage...

[chef35ca]

What do you think it is, why it's holding us back from shooting good scores, and how to improve in this area.

Other. Putting & short game. Followed closely by course management & overswinging.

[tm22721]

Good ballstrikers start out learning golf from the green to the tee, not the other way around. Learn to chip and pitch first, ie get the feel of 'leading the lag'.

[acegolfer]

I'm surprised with some comments here. How is not hitting solid a mistake? Isn't not hitting solid a result of mistakes? If you say not hitting solid is a mistake, then I will top that. #1 mistake among high handicappers is not scoring low. As you can see, this line of thoughts is not helpful.

If we restrict to causes rather than symptoms, then I think the #1 mistake is that we don't know who we are. Specifically, we don't know what our limits are.

[Kieran123]

Being naive. Not their fault. they just don't understand the swing yet.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I would say grip and not aligning properly. Or even picking out a target to align off of to begin with. Alignment is something i continually struggle with.

[Paz]

I would say grip and not aligning properly. Or even picking out a target to align off of to begin with. Alignment is something i continually struggle with.

Me too. Everytime I line up I feel like I am aimed slightly left of whatever I am trying to aim at. I believe this an illusion however since we stand ~ a yard to the left of the ball instead of behind it. I've heard the farther away the target, the farther left it will seem like you are aimed.

Aligning to a spot a few yards in front of the ball has helped a lot though

[Shanks A Million]

Me too. Everytime I line up I feel like I am aimed slightly left of whatever I am trying to aim at. I believe this an illusion however since we stand ~ a yard to the left of the ball instead of behind it. I've heard the farther away the target, the farther left it will seem like you are aimed.

That's very common. People aim their feet at the target, not left of it as they should. I don't worry as much about my allignment, as I focus more on where the ball lands, and keep my focus on that as my "straight" shot. I use sticks, of course, but I don't let them solely define my target.