A Case Study: Which faults to fix first?

[acegolfer]

My normal misses were fat shots, snap hooks or push right.

Here are 10 swing faults that I had 4 weeks ago. I fixed some of them. If you were me, which ones would you fix first? (Unfortunately, I can't fix everything at once.)

1. head moving closer to ball at top
2. losing lag
3. upright back swing
4. clubs getting stuck
5. outside takeaway
6. ball position
7. club shaft not in plane
8. hip thrust
9. right heel coming off too early
10. losing spine angle

[iacas]

My normal misses were fat shots

Then you probably have a fault you didn't even know about.

Paint a line on the ground. Keep swinging at the line (set up to it like it's a golf ball) with a six iron and don't stop until you can hit the ground in front of the line 20 times in a row. We don't have video, so who knows whether those faults are even correct. Fat shots, though, are typically one of two things, which you'll probably discover for yourself in doing that drill. Pay attention to what lets you hit in front of the line. And I mean hit, too - I don't mean brush the grass. A little divot in front of the line.

[gspjeb]

honestly based on your list there I think I would concentrate on my setup to start with .....that will fix the ball position and set you up for the correct takeaway.....setup and grip are the culprits in many a swing flaw...also what you see the pros working on a lot. good luck to you.

[Harmonious]

My normal misses were fat shots, snap hooks or push right.

Man, your self awareness is awesome. To be able to have such a list is mind-boggling to me. It might be interesting for you to just step up to the ball and just swing, without being conscious of all your self-induced "faults". You might be surprised that you have a pretty good swing just waiting to come out.

So many times we get in our own way, trying to make the perfect takeaway, the perfect turn, the perfect follow-through. We forget the object of the game is to put the f***king ball into a f***king gopher hole (props to Robin Williams).

[tm22721]

For a beginner, they should concentrate on just throwing a club at a target until they can hear the whoosh of the clubhead occurring after impact, not before.

Just by throwing a club the subconscious will eventually feel and engrain:

how the whip effect of lag improves the whoosh

how to monitor lag pressure with the index finger

how to use the pivot instead of the arms

how to sling the club in takeaway

how to use clubhead tipback to signal initiation of the downswing

how to shift weight correctly

how upper/lower body separation automates the correct downswing sequence

how overswinging is counterproductive

how overacceleration from the top causes clubhead 'whoosh' to be heard before impact

[saevel25]

Thats horrible, you never want to throw the club at the ball. That will develop a casting issue with the club.

[acegolfer]

Man, your self awareness is awesome. To be able to have such a list is mind-boggling to me. It might be interesting for you to just step up to the ball and just swing, without being conscious of all your self-induced "faults". You might be surprised that you have a pretty good swing just waiting to come out.

I have been doing exactly what you said for 10+ years. It was fun for a while but my golf was not going anywhere. My handicap was as low as 8 about 5 years ago before lay off. But, honestly, I didn't have the control over the ball back then. I was hoping that it would be a solid hit. In retrospect, my score was good because I played at easy courses up north.

I started playing golf again 1.5 years ago after moving to FL. My handicap dropped from 23 to 12 in less than a year but has stayed at 12 for 6 months. I realized that I can't get to the next level without rebuilding the swing. So I video taped myself and found these swing faults. So can anyone answer my question? Which one should I address now? If you say all ten, then it's not going to help because I can only work on 1-2 things at a time. I guess ball position is easy to fix. What's next?