My Swing (hokiebound)

[stricklerlee]

ALso, you need to hit the ball with your upper body. You're not using it at all in any of these videos. It's mostly an "arm swing".

[hokiebound]

The reason behind that I'm guessing is because I've been trying to control my backswing more. I guess I'll try it again whenever I go back out.

[Rexx]

My number one choice is VT. However, I'm exploring my options. I'm a senior in high school right now. My family is full of hokies, however, I took a weekend flight up to Penn State (which explains the t-shirt, rental clubs, and lack of golf spikes). I loved Penn State's campus, and the golf course has 36 holes. Thanks for asking.

Both are great schools -- I'm certainly more familiar with Tech, though. Being in-state, it was certainly a cheaper option than any out-of-state school, plus they are a well-regarded Engineering school. Word has it that my company has secured a box for the Boise State game... I need to check into that.

But, good luck in whatever school you choose... I'm sure you'll have fun!

[hokiebound]

I went out earlier today just before my Hokies got smashed by Andrew Luck. I can honestly say it didn't go well at all. I've been trying to keep from cocking my wrists when first taking the club back. What I noticed compared to my other videos is that I keep my wrists stiff in these new videos when I'm at the top of my swing. Today was brutal. Any tips?

[uttexas]

You are basically doing the reverse Furyk.  You bring the club shaft and club head in too early then too much, then lift up, go across the swing plane.  Then on the forward swing, you swing across the ball from out to in.  Your shots are probably pull fades with some fat shots.

Read the deep hands thread here: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/30325/deep-hands-explained

Backswing:  The backswing is dominated by the shoulders and hips.  Turn your shoulders more vertically.  you might feel as though your left shoulder turns down instead of around.  You want the club shaft and club head to stay outside your hands (while moving your hands in) until the club shaft is parallel to the ground.

Because these changes are quite different from what you are currently doing, they will feel very weird, strange, and uncomfortable at first.

Forward swing:  Initiated by the legs/hips

[Rexx]

"My Hokies"?  I guess you decided on VT then?  If so, congrats!  Great school!

Anyways, hinging your wrists isn't a bad thing.  Looking at it from the address position, the left wrist will hinge vertically and the right wrist will hinge/fold horizontally during the backswing.  The right wrist folding horizontally (and staying like that through impact) gets your hands ahead of the ball at impact and helps to move the swing's bottom in front of the ball.  For the left wrist hinging vertically, I have a theory that I've never really seen (so I may be off on this one).  You hinge the left wrist because it moves the mass of the club over your body, allowing you to rotate quicker on the downswing -- notice how difficult to swing the club if the left wrist never hinges.  It's kind of like an ice skater pulling their arms in to spin faster.  You unhinge the left wrist on the downswing to get the clubhead back out on the arc that will strike the ball.  The clubhead picks up speed simply due to being on a greater arc while rotational speed remains close to the same.

The problem (among other things) is that you still roll the forearms/wrists clockwise during the backswing.  It's like your setting it up so that the left wrist's hinge and unhinge happen on the arc that the clubhead will be travelling on, instead of more perpendicular to it (save for the right wrist folding), which can seem counter-intuitive.  Sorry if this is confusing, but I don't know how else to explain it.  For you, you're going to want to feel like backhanding the ball with the left wrist from start to finish, keeping the feeling that the left wrist is pointing at (or even ahead of) the ball anytime the hands are at or below the waist.  When you roll your forearms, it will immediately point the back of the left hand behind the ball.

Originally Posted by hokiebound

I went out earlier today just before my Hokies got smashed by Andrew Luck. I can honestly say it didn't go well at all. I've been trying to keep from cocking my wrists when first taking the club back. What I noticed compared to my other videos is that I keep my wrists stiff in these new videos when I'm at the top of my swing. Today was brutal. Any tips?

[hokiebound]

Thanks for the tips again. And I went ahead and did early decision on VT. I got into engineering, not sure on what engineering yet. But first, my high school season starts pretty soon. Hopefully I can get things straightened out.

[GolfAddict602]

One piece takeaway!  I think that club looks a little long for you too. Have you been fitted for one before?      It looks like your head comes way up, and to "stand up" one the take away. Concentrate on rotating around your spine

[cbrian]

Thought for starting the backswing should be left shoulder down. Feel like you are pushing your left shoulder straight down to your left foot. Let the left shoulder push the arms/hands/club back, up, and in. Once that shoulder starts going down you wont have to roll your arms to get the club going inside. Your backswing will get much simpler. Watch Tiger and Grant start their backswings and you will see what I'm talking about.

Thought for starting the downswing should be getting the hips lateral. As you take your backswing, feel more and more pressure building up in the left foot. Once you get to the top you need to get the hips moving towards the target rather than just turning. You should feel your shoulders staying closed longer. Right now you turn from the top and everything gets open too early.

Couple good vids for the DS.

Good luck with everything.

[hokiebound]

thanks you guys are a huge help... can't wait to go on the range tomorrow.

[hokiebound]

Ok, I went back to the range today and tired some of the stuff you guys were talking about, mostly what cbrian was talking about. I focused on trying to get my shoulder down. I still couldn't hit the ball. Right now I feel like I'm just screwing up everything to where I could hit the ball solid. Yet, I feel if I make the proper adjustments, I can become an even better player. I tried to slo mo the swings today... (sorry for the club throw at the end, frustration set in).

[cbrian]

There lies the problem with lessons/tips online... haha. No worries though, its an improvement I think (would need to see the same DTL angle to know). So your left shoulder is definitely going down now, but you need to work on extending your spine. We break down the movement of the spine into three pieces: extension, tilt, and rotation. You are trying to match those rates to keep your head still (vertically and laterally). What is happening is that you have no extension. Put more simply, you need to stand up at the same rate you lean and turn.

A good way to get the feeling for it is to get into your address posture and then stand up without taking the bend out of your knees. Then take some slow practice swings and work on feeling those rates. A good drill for you would be to put your head up against a door frame in your address posture and take those same slow practice swings. If the head drops, then you need to start extending sooner or at a faster rate.

And don't get frustrated... I think you are pretty close. Oh and one more thing, I would turn your feet out just a little. I think its going to help get your hips moving a little better/easier.

[hokiebound]

Originally Posted by cbrian

There lies the problem with lessons/tips online... haha. No worries though, its an improvement I think (would need to see the same DTL angle to know). So your left shoulder is definitely going down now, but you need to work on extending your spine. We break down the movement of the spine into three pieces: extension, tilt, and rotation. You are trying to match those rates to keep your head still (vertically and laterally). What is happening is that you have no extension. Put more simply, you need to stand up at the same rate you lean and turn.

A good way to get the feeling for it is to get into your address posture and then stand up without taking the bend out of your knees. Then take some slow practice swings and work on feeling those rates. A good drill for you would be to put your head up against a door frame in your address posture and take those same slow practice swings. If the head drops, then you need to start extending sooner or at a faster rate.

And don't get frustrated... I think you are pretty close. Oh and one more thing, I would turn your feet out just a little. I think its going to help get your hips moving a little better/easier.

Ok could you elaborate more on the three pieces of the spine? I found this video:

Which is saying that you shouldn't "slide" your hips because it messes up your axis of rotation. So you are saying while I'm taking the club back... I should extend my spine but keep my knees bent at the same time? Thanks.

[cbrian]

"Kiss of death in golf?" Sure worked for Hogan. I'm not so sure I agree with what the guy is saying, but anyways..

Maybe Erik or someone can post the photo that goes with this. My pics are on another computer.

1) Extension: Straightening of the spine. Like I said, to feel it just stand up out of your posture using your back. Its pretty self explanatory; you are extending your spine.

2) Tilt or lean: The spine leans to the left. If you are standing up with your hands at your side you just move the left hand/shoulder towards your left knee.

3) Rotation: Again, self explanatory. You are simply rotating your shoulders.

If you do that correctly you will notice that you will go from leaning left toward the target to leaning left towards the golf ball once you rotate your shoulders. This is what Foley was breaking down for Tiger when they first started working together. The video is still on youtube I think.

As for the knees/leg work. When you take your backswing, your back leg will actually straighten (amount depends on person). Don't force the back leg to stay bent.

[hokiebound]

Ok I went back out to the range today and took a good amount of video from both points of view. I used a driver, 3-wood, 5-iron, and a 7-iron. Any tips will greatly be appreciated!

[hokiebound]

Well I haven't posted my swing on here in a while. Basically my swing had some changes during my high school golf season. I closed my right index finger in my car door shortly after the season, took a week off to relieve as much pain as I could, and now my swing doesn't seem the same. In these videos, I was hitting pitching wedge and 7 iron.

[hokiebound]

So does anyone have any tips for getting my club head more open at the top of my swing? It is always too closed. Thanks.

[bunkerputt]

I love any thread that posts that somax video This guy is selling some serious snake oil.  For one, I love how he uses a video from youtube with serious progressive scan distortion to prove that Tiger Woods blows shots all over the golf course.  That video gives the illusion of reason without the substance.  Just ignore it is my recommendation.