My Swing (tristanhilton85)

[iacas]

Looks good. I'd work on keeping the right knee from flexing in so long. Up to impact it's nice but then you just let it sag through a little.

You set up with your head back but then it moves forward during the backswing to where I'd prefer it to start, so that's not bad. Then you do a good job of pushing your hips forward.

All in all pretty nice. Clean up this right knee work and it'll be a bit better.

Oh, one more thing... straight arms.

[Stretch]

You're definitely getting to good impact positions. Hips forward, hands forward, head back, decent extension. Like Erik says, it all gets a bit floppy-looking through the ball -- but that's secondary. Have seen plenty of single digit handicappers with far worse mechanics -- so get out there and drag your head into the 80s, 'cause your body's already there.

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by iacas

Looks good. I'd work on keeping the right knee from flexing in so long. Up to impact it's nice but then you just let it sag through a little.

You set up with your head back but then it moves forward during the backswing to where I'd prefer it to start, so that's not bad. Then you do a good job of pushing your hips forward.

All in all pretty nice. Clean up this right knee work and it'll be a bit better.

Oh, one more thing... straight arms.

Originally Posted by Stretch

You're definitely getting to good impact positions. Hips forward, hands forward, head back, decent extension. Like Erik says, it all gets a bit floppy-looking through the ball -- but that's secondary. Have seen plenty of single digit handicappers with far worse mechanics -- so get out there and drag your head into the 80s, 'cause your body's already there.

Thanks for the help guys... I really feel like I've come a long way since the first time I posted here... and I really think that I'm very close to being in the 80s... I shot 91 two days ago on a 71.4/132 course... and that was with a couple poor decisions and bad holes...  If I can keep my head straight like Stretch said then I should be there no problem.

Anyways, thanks again and if there is anything else that anybody sees, let me know.

[tristanhilton85]

Wow, it's been just about a year since I started this thread and my swing has come a long way (at least in my opinion).... Here are a few shots from my very first swing video compared to now...

I think that overall my swing is in a much better place; it is much shorter than it was and I'm keeping my arms straighter and not letting them collapse at the top of the swing.  I also feel like my impact position is way better.

Here are my videos from today's range session.  Driver and 6 iron swings both face on and down the line as usual.

I honestly feel that this thread has helped me improve more than I would have without it.  Being able to see my swing on video along with feedback from knowledgeable members has helped.  Adding Analyzr to my computer has also helped out a lot.

Anyways, if anybody has any advice or anything please let me know...

[uttexas]

Wow, excellent job, you've obviously worked hard and achieved great results. You are also looking more physically fit and athletic, well done.

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by uttexas

Wow, excellent job, you've obviously worked hard and achieved great results. You are also looking more physically fit and athletic, well done.

Thanks... I am in better shape than I was there, although I got a ways to go.  I had lost about 45 pounds but I put more than half of that back on.  I really got to get going again...

Anyways, the score has gotten better as the swing as but not quite as much as I would have hoped.  At the time of the original video I was shooting high 90s to low 100s and now I'm sitting around 90, 91.  I still haven't managed to break into the 80s... for some reason I can't seem to get over that hump.

[JetFan1983]

Keep up the good work, TH

You still need to work on straighter arms on the thru-swing like Erik said. It makes the swing arc a lot longer. You could also push your hips forward more on that six-iron swing, but couldn't we all....

It's also difficult to see your elbow positions with that black shirt on and the sun being in the position it's in. That said, they're too far apart here, and it's part of the reason you don't have your torso as involved in the swing as it could be.

Here's me working on my elbows staying closer together. This adds a number of good elements to the swing, most notably a lot more wrist cock potential.

[tristanhilton85]

Thanks JetFan... I never thought about my elbows needing to be closer together... that is something that I'll keep in mind when I go to the range again... probably tomorrow morning.  And yeah, I still need to keep straighter arms through the swing, I'm still having problems with that.

[JetFan1983]

I'm exaggerating in that pic a decent amount but I think it's important. A lot of pros aren't even that close together, but in my experience, I've found exaggeration can really help make a change. It could help you keep your arms straight too during the thru-swing since the elbows get really far apart once your arms start to retract. And I haven't read Hogan's Five Lessons in quite sometime, but he does have that drawing of the golfer with his forearms wrapped together somewhere in there IIRC.

[JetFan1983]

I'm about to head out and play, but here are some images on what I was talking about last night from Hogan's Five Lessons. While I've stated many times I don't agree with a lot of what he says in that book, I do agree with this part.

Also, if you want another perspective on this, The Golfing Machine people refer to this piece as a "pitch elbow." Also, it's the elbow piece used in most Stack and Tilt swings.

You can see how doing this gets your body more involved. Your swing gets less armsy.

Pay no attention to the lines some guy drew on this first pic. I'm just using this to demonstrate how this looks.

Here's the picture from the book. There are a couple pages in there that describe what it does, but the descriptions IMO aren't great. They're better than nothing though.

This improved other pieces in my swing, since like I said, it made me less armsy. Hip sliding and side-tilting became a lot easier on the downswing to accomplish and I could hold the flying wedge for a lot longer with less effort.

[bunkerputt]

Tristan,

What do you feel in your torso at the top of the backswing?  What do you feel in your hands on your downswing?

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

Tristan,

What do you feel in your torso at the top of the backswing?  What do you feel in your hands on your downswing?

Good question.  And one I never really thought about.  I'm not really sure what I feel in my torso at the top of my swing... I'm just trying to get to the point where my lead shoulder feels like it's pointing down at the ball.  With the hands, I'm trying to feel them get past the ball before my clubhead gets there.

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by tristanhilton85

Good question.  And one I never really thought about.  I'm not really sure what I feel in my torso at the top of my swing... I'm just trying to get to the point where my lead shoulder feels like it's pointing down at the ball.  With the hands, I'm trying to feel them get past the ball before my clubhead gets there.

The hand location feeling is a good direction, but could be a little misleading.  If someone put your hands where they should be at impact, and you placed them where you believe they should be at impact, my guess is it would be different.  A better way to "feel" your way to a better impact position is to start trying to create and maintain "lag pressure" in your hands, specifically in the pad of the right index finger.  There are some pretty good threads on this board about that in particular.  Check out this post here:

http://thesandtrap.com/t/31339/tour-striker-training-aid/90#post_651927

I think if you can learn to use your pivot to generate and maintain the hand pressure, it will go a long way towards getting you hitting the ball more solidly.  You'll need to start engaging your legs some to get the club moving.  For you, I imagine it will feel like using your belly button to hit the golf ball.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by tristanhilton85

Good question.  And one I never really thought about.  I'm not really sure what I feel in my torso at the top of my swing... I'm just trying to get to the point where my lead shoulder feels like it's pointing down at the ball.  With the hands, I'm trying to feel them get past the ball before my clubhead gets there.

Like that will ever work.....

Nice changes, hope the game is good

[tristanhilton85]

Well it finally happend!  I broke 90!  I shot 89 (46 and 43) at my home course, The Golf Club at Terra Lago.  I played from the Championship (yellow) tees which are rated 71.4/132 and play to a total yardage of 6511.

Here's the score card.

Next goal is to break 85.  Hopefully it won't take me quite so long to get that one.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by tristanhilton85

Well it finally happend!  I broke 90!  I shot 89 (46 and 43) at my home course, The Golf Club at Terra Lago.  I played from the Championship (yellow) tees which are rated 71.4/132 and play to a total yardage of 6511.

Sweet! Congratulations! Get rid of the 6s on the card - play the par fives for an easy par and don't ever get into too much trouble on the par fours - and you'll pretty much be there!

[JetFan1983]

Awesome job, man. I hope I helped in some small way, but if not, congratulations nonetheless

[mvmac]

Congrats!