My Swing (Open-Faced Club Sandwedge)

[iacas]

What it seems like to me, and this seems related to the head dip question, is that my sternum is too close to the ground as I come through impact.

You're probably right. That's probably the biggest factor.

Your head does that because it tries to get back to where it feels it needs to be at impact, which is where it was (roughly) at setup. So it's the swaying off the ball that's likely causing you the most pain. BTW, I doubt you're a 27 index. If you are, you're the exception. And I also can't say anything definitively with video this blurry. Sorry - there's a limit. I'm inclined to agree that you don't lose the wedge, but it's impossible to tell.

In other words, it kinda seems to me that the bottom of my arc is often simply too low, and that moving the bottom of the arc forward (which I think is what you're getting at), isn't enough to keep it from getting to the ground before the ball. But again, please correct the errors in my thinking here.

What you say is right about b, but a - losing the flying wedge - will length the swing radius too. You may not do it (though that'd be unlikely), and it may just be the head going down and not getting back up in time, but again it's impossible to tell with this video.

I'd work on keeping your head still by "standing up" a bit more and steepening the shoulder tilt. Make a few practice swings without a club with the bill of your cap touching the wall and see if you can make a backswing while keeping your head fairly stable by standing up and feeling that you side tilt more. Or do the stick drill from the video. That's the first thing - cure that, then move on to the next piece. P.S. The head swaying is thing 1a. The steeper shoulders is thing 1b. The clubhead path on the backswing may be thing 2 and you might not have much after that... if 1a and 1b fix the head compressing towards the ball.

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

You're probably right. That's probably the biggest factor.

Okay, that makes sense now.

BTW, I doubt you're a 27 index. If you are, you're the exception.

Well, that may be a little misleading, due to my progression in the game. I shoot in the 103-109 range at my local course, par 70. I'm consistently there, but it's a different reason every time. The fat shots really kill me. A month or two ago, I had some incredibly consistent shanks. I had a really good ball-striking round a while back, where swing-wise I should have been playing at least bogey-golf, but the short game was absolutely disastrous and I still played double-bogey golf. And recently I've been taking lessons, my swing has really improved, my ball-striking has really improved, but I haven't actually played a round of golf since that improvement.

And I also can't say anything definitively with video this blurry. Sorry - there's a limit. I'm inclined to agree that you don't lose the wedge, but it's impossible to tell.

I understand. I'll rely on my instructor who watches me in person and records me on a good camera to give it to me straight on that one.

I'd work on keeping your head still by "standing up" a bit more and steepening the shoulder tilt. Make a few practice swings without a club with the bill of your cap touching the wall and see if you can make a backswing while keeping your head fairly stable by standing up and feeling that you side tilt more. Or do the stick drill from the video.

Sounds good to me.

P.S. The head swaying is thing 1a. The steeper shoulders is thing 1b. The clubhead path on the backswing may be thing 2 and you might not have much after that... if 1a and 1b fix the head compressing towards the ball.

That's what I was thinking. I'm sure you're right about the backswing path, but to me everything from the top of the backswing through impact seems much higher priority than how I get to the top of the backswing.

Thanks again for all the help. I now have more perspective on what to work on myself, and I'm better armed with questions for my instructor. -Andrew

[$2 Nassau]

Good stuff about the head dip/movement.
I start my downswing with a good 4"+ head dip, and then of course at impact you have to suddenly lift back up or contract your arms (or both if you're like me) to hit the ball instead if the ground.

It's not easy to fix, you think you've fixed it but you really haven't...because you never thought it was moving in the first place. I videotaped my swing again and the swings where I really minimzed the movement where the ones that felt like my head was lifting up during the swing - but it was actually staying fairly level. feel=not real.

There's a marked difference in a swing where you actually have room to swing through and extend. It's amazing. Hell I think I may have even hit the center of the clubface with my driver a couple times. LOL.

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

Good stuff about the head dip/movement.

Yeah, feel = not real is a truth I'm confronting a lot in taking lessons and seeing my swing on video. In order for me to stop my backswing short of parallel (I used to go WAY past like John Daly), I have to feel like I'm literally taking half the backswing I'm actually taking. I feel like I'm only lifting the club head up to head level, when in fact it's gone past that, past vertical, and almost all the way to parallel again!

I do extend my arms pretty well. But then, I hit a lot of fat shots also. It's definitely something I need to work on. -Andrew

[Shanks A Million]

BTW, I doubt you're a 27 index. If you are, you're the exception.

He's hitting off mats, could be on the course he loses the wedge faster, or this swing was better than normal. Either way, an index may not truly measure the progress of a player if he doesn't play much.

[Stretch]

Good stuff about the head dip/movement. I start my downswing with a good 4"+ head dip, and then of course at impact you have to suddenly lift back up or contract your arms (or both if you're like me) to hit the ball instead if the ground.

Head dip is one thing and head movement is another. Quite a few good players compress down to generate power -- Tiger most famously -- and seem to do just fine. Look at Rory's head here in relation to the trees and fence in the background.

Moving your around head much on the horizontal plane, though, is asking for trouble.

[$2 Nassau]

Head dip is one thing and head movement is another. Quite a few good players compress down to generate power -- Tiger most famously -- and seem to do just fine. Look at Rory's head here in relation to the trees and fence in the background.

I can't view YT from work so I'll check out that vid later tonight. I have looked at some videos of pros, and it seems like there is a little head dip right before/at impact. I tend to dip my head (and therefore entire body) quite drastically to start the downswing and can't seem to recover. So I always felt there was a difference there. But again, I'll take a look at the vid. Thanks.

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

He's hitting off mats, could be on the course he loses the wedge faster, or this swing was better than normal. Either way, an index may not truly measure the progress of a player if he doesn't play much.

Played again yesterday, after several weeks of range + lessons but not actually making it to the course. Shot 105, like I always do on that course. Chipping + putting was one of the reasons yesterday; the holes were all in really tough spots vis a vis the slope of the green, and it was really hard to chip or pitch it close, and pretty hard to 2-putt in many cases. I had 40 putts.

4 fairways hit, although at least 5 more were near the fairway in decent spots. Only 3 GIR, but I had several great opportunities for GIR that didn't happen due to poor partial-swing wedge shots. 2 pars, 6 bogeys, 4 doubles, 3 triples, and 3 quads. The quads each had penalty strokes involved, and in fact each had me hitting my 3rd shot from the tee. The story of one hole that kind of epitomized my round: 590-yd dogleg par 5. Drove the ball dead straight, 285 yards up-hill (GPS measured, and YES I'm a 27-index), middle of fairway. Excited. Hit my 4-hybrid 205 yards, baby draw, to the middle of the fairway at the dogleg (100 yards out, I'm playing this one along the line it's measured on!). Really excited. Hit my sand wedge fat, in the fairway but 20 yards short. Disappointed, but optimistic. Bladed my pitch shot, landed on the green but rolled through. Frustrated. Chipped from just off the green, got the club caught in the grass behind the ball a little, still 20 feet from the hole. Exasperated. Made a decent lag putt and holed out from 3 feet. How did the best first two shots I've ever hit become a double bogey? And friends, this is precisely why I'm a double-bogey golfer. No matter how good I look for a couple of shots during the hole, I'll end up at double bogey on average. Some day, shots that consistently do something close to what I want will be mine! But for now, I have a swing with uncommonly good fundamentals for a 27-index, but I come by that 27 honestly. -Andrew