When Will My 'New Swing' Feel Like My 'Old Swing'?

[Fairway_CY]

So... I'm not going to say that I'm going through a Tiger Woods like swing change... but, ever since I saw my swing on video last year, I was disgusted by it.  I noticed that I have a HUGE over the top move... like Jim Furyk, but less gangly and WAY less of a proper slot that he gets the club into.  It was just ugly when I saw it... but I didn't want to change it midway through the season... so I stuck with it and had some pretty good results, dropping my handicap my 6+ strokes by the end of the year.

My wife got me a swing evaluation at GolfTEC for my birthday, and last week... I got the opportunity to use it.  Well... that same move was there... but it was nice to learn the root cause of that move.  It was (is) my grip.  I had my left hand way under the club and my right hand way over the top of the club.  This combined with a VERY inside takeaway had me opening the club a ton and I had to loop it over the top and get the timing perfect to be able to strike the ball if I hoped to not slice the hell out of the ball.

The instructor there had me change my grip (WAY more conventional now) and work on a drill where I basically PUSH the club outside (what FEELS like outside to me) on my takeaway and keep the clubface 'facing the ball' as long as possible.  He also said that I needed to cup my left wrist instead of bow it... so I've been making a conscious effort to do that as well.

I did that inside my living room for 2 days... and then at lunch one day, I took my 7 iron to the range near my job and hit a small bucket of balls.  It took me about 8 swings to NOT sh**k the ball... and by the end of the bucket, I was hitting it fairly well.  I went back a few days later and I hit the ball solidly for the most part.

Went to the local range today and hit another small bucket... spreading it amongst my 5 iron, sand wedge, 3 wood and driver.  With a few exceptions... I felt pretty good (although I lost a majority of the shots after contact because of the angle of the sun).  One thing I noticed is that with any club below my 5 iron (so far I've only hit my 7 iron, 9 iron and sand wedge)... I have a tendency to pull the ball pretty badly (like 10+ yards left of my target).

It's STARTING to feel better... but it still doesn't feel natural to me.  How long will it take to feel like my old swing felt (comfortable)?  Is it normal to pull the ball like that when changing things (especially grip and the old OTT move)?

CY

[westcyderydin]

You are still coming over the top.  But now because your grip is stronger your clubface is more closed at impact resulting in a straight pull instead of a slice.  so the first thing to fix would be your swing path.

[westcyderydin]

oh and another thing i wanted to say, but forgot...

If the instructor gave you 5 things to work on, i wouldnt try to impliment them all at once.  It would be much quicker and more comfortable of a swing change if you determine the order of things to work on and then master each peice one at a time.

1. like i said should be swing path, then go from there.

If you try to cheat and ingrane 5 moves at once, you will not fully ingrane all of them and some of your old problems will keep popping up.

[Fairway_CY]

Originally Posted by westcyderydin

oh and another thing i wanted to say, but forgot...

If the instructor gave you 5 things to work on, i wouldnt try to impliment them all at once.  It would be much quicker and more comfortable of a swing change if you determine the order of things to work on and then master each peice one at a time.

1. like i said should be swing path, then go from there.

If you try to cheat and ingrane 5 moves at once, you will not fully ingrane all of them and some of your old problems will keep popping up.

That makes sense!  He gave me 3 things to work on.  Said that the grip was most important.  I've pretty much become comfortable with that now.  Said that the takeaway was next to work on because it was causing me to open the club face very early.  That's also feeling better and becoming pretty automatic.

Last thing was the cupping of my left wrist.  That's been more difficult.

I'll take your advice and focus on the swing path because it makes sense that I would be pulling shots now as a result of the OTT move.

Thanks for the response.  Much appreciated.

CY

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Fairway_CY

...I noticed that I have a HUGE over the top move... like Jim Furyk...

For the record, Furyk doesn't have an over the top move. It's actually the opposite, just more exaggerated than most pros.

[Fairway_CY]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

For the record, Furyk doesn't have an over the top move. It's actually the opposite, just more exaggerated than most pros.

Sorry, I didn't clarify that point in my original post.  I meant the exaggerated loop at the top... not coming over the top.  He drops his club into the proper slot while I lift mine further OUT of the proper slot and then have to come over the top just to hit the ball.

CY

[JayMc]

It will take a while before it's really grooved....and you'll hit some really crappy shots on the way there.

I made a pretty major change in November.  I've hit quite a few balls through the winter and the change is 90+% in place.  Last week I had another lesson and we made another adjustment that I expect will take another few months to groove.

Handicap over 6 months of scores only rose by .2 strokes, but if you look at Sept-Nov and compare Dec-today it would be up by 6 strokes.  Hopefully it'll be worth it in a few more months

[Fairway_CY]

Originally Posted by JayMc

It will take a while before it's really grooved....and you'll hit some really crappy shots on the way there.

I made a pretty major change in November.  I've hit quite a few balls through the winter and the change is 90+% in place.  Last week I had another lesson and we made another adjustment that I expect will take another few months to groove.

Handicap over 6 months of scores only rose by .2 strokes, but if you look at Sept-Nov and compare Dec-today it would be up by 6 strokes.  Hopefully it'll be worth it in a few more months

Yeah, I figure it's going to take me 3+ months to not feel 'weird' with the new grip.  I remember changing my grip back in 2004.  I had a HORRIBLE time slicing the ball so I turned my right hand over the top of the club figuring it would give me a 'head start' on squaring the club face.  It worked for me... and I haven't had that problem since.  But it took me a good couple of months to feel right with the club in my hand.  Now, I'm being told that the grip is the root cause of the majority of my problems because it requires me to have perfect timing in order to strike the ball properly.

Anyway... my hope is that my handicap doesn't go up too much.  I've worked hard over the last 2+ seasons to drop nearly 10 strokes from my handicap.  I'd hate to see it wiped out by a few simple changes in my setup and takeaway.

CY

[GaijinGolfer]

Originally Posted by Fairway_CY  How long will it take to feel like my old swing felt (comfortable)?  Is it normal to pull the ball like that when changing things (especially grip and the old OTT move)?

CY

The answer to that is, "how ever long it takes".  It could take a month, it could take 3 months, it could take 6 months, it could take a year.  There isnt a set timeframe for when the changes to your swing will feel comfortable or normal.  Its going to depend upon how much you work on your swing.

[ohiolefty]

If it makes you feel better, and it won't, I've been working on the same thing for 8 months...

It takes forever, sometimes. The problem with bad habits is that they're habits, you've grooved them. Do create a new habit takes a long time. The change isn't fully made until it's happening without you thinking about it.

[westcyderydin]

Originally Posted by Fairway_CY

Yeah, I figure it's going to take me 3+ months to not feel 'weird' with the new grip.  I remember changing my grip back in 2004.  I had a HORRIBLE time slicing the ball so I turned my right hand over the top of the club figuring it would give me a 'head start' on squaring the club face.  It worked for me... and I haven't had that problem since.  But it took me a good couple of months to feel right with the club in my hand.  Now, I'm being told that the grip is the root cause of the majority of my problems because it requires me to have perfect timing in order to strike the ball properly.

Anyway... my hope is that my handicap doesn't go up too much.  I've worked hard over the last 2+ seasons to drop nearly 10 strokes from my handicap.  I'd hate to see it wiped out by a few simple changes in my setup and takeaway.

CY

There are two trains of thought when it comes to a swing change.

1) I am going to get worse and it is going to take a long time to get used to then new swing and then finally get better.

2) I am making small improvements to my swing so i will get better as i keep getting more used to what i am doing.

If you watched the haney project with ray ramano, number one is the mindset that held ray back.  Number two is the best way to look at things.

Like i said before, its best to master a big change in little peices.  If you are like me i am always making little adjustments anyways...its just that some of them are more band aid fixes and dont always work.

But now if you have things that a good pro told you to work on, you have direction and purpose in the changes you are making.  this means that they are good changes that will make your swing better, not worse.  But like you said some of the things might feel a little funny for a while.

So look on improving while slowly ingraining the new feeling of each step of your adjustments.

You can improve greatly in one month with the right info.  If you have 4 things you want to change, from most important to least, take a week to ingrain each feeling, without cheating.  If you try all 4 at once it will take a long time to ingrain all of these feelings and they might  not stick.

so good luck on your improvements!

[Fairway_CY]

Thanks for all the responses.  I'm obviously still coming over the top... it's just not as pronounced.

I took a video this afternoon at the range with my iPhone.  Not the best quality, but I compared it to the swing evaluation.  It's easy to see that the takeaway has improved, but beyond that... I can't see too much of a difference.  Then again, I'm not a trained observer when it comes to the golf swing.

What they say about what you feel and what you see is absolutely true.  It's unreal that I always felt like my swing was pretty good... then to see it on video.  It still sends chills down my back thinking how ugly my swing is...

CY

[golfyboy4]

It takes awhile to get used to changes.I recently revamped my swing and it still feels wierd but it becomes more comfortable very time i go out now.Its been about 2.5 months since i first started making changes.

[iacas]

Hands shouldn't shove the club to the outside. Look up Rickie Fowler from down the line.

Actually, here:

[Fairway_CY]

Originally Posted by iacas

Hands shouldn't shove the club to the outside.

It doesn't feel right to me to do that, either.  That's what the instructor said I needed to do to correct my inside path.  I didn't argue with him because my swing is so ugly... but, what the video you posted is showing is that I need to bring the club back along the inside (less than I was, but more than I am now), and keep the club 'facing the ball' (like the instructor said).

I've got a ton of work to do with my swing... but even these little changes are confusing.

Anyway... thanks for the video.  It makes sense.

CY