Any tips to shallow out the swing a bit?

[westcyderydin]

What tips do you have for shallowing out the swing a bit?

im talking wedges, irons, hybrids and fairway woods.

i have a little bit of a fear of chunking the ball.... and today was my first day on the course with the S and T moves.  it seems to have helped a lot so far but i still fell just a little too steep.  I feel like i hit the ground very close to the time that i hit the ball.

thanks

[Zeph]

Mark up where the ball lies when practicing, that way you can know, not guess. Feelings are not always real. Ideally, the divot should start in front of where the ball was.

Shallowing out can be accomplished by shifting the weight forward with the hips. Be careful not to move the upper body and head forward, that would make the swing steeper, keep the upper centers centered.

[The Gill]

Search for 'deep hands'. I used to take toe deep divots and got fitted for 1 degree flat after making the change.

[JackLee]

It seems like common sense that the only way to make a swing more shallow is to use more lateral movement, which would require a wider stance.

[saevel25]

I am a dipper, i can take a practice swing, awesome divot, then i take a normal swing, the divot is enough that i only need a few more to create a lawn.

[iacas]

Secondary axis tilt done properly. :-)

[delav]

Originally Posted by iacas

Secondary axis tilt done properly. :-)

Erik, where can we find a link to some of your commonly used terms and swing checkpoints?  This used to be in your sig, and may help others understand what is meant by 'secondary axis tilt.'

[westcyderydin]

yeah i dont really know what the term secondary axis tilt means...guessing it would have to do with extension and tucking the butt, but thats a guess.

and im definately a dipper.

right now it just feels like i am throwing a razor blade into the ground, hoping that it hits the ball before the ground.  divots are like small islands, but the ground is pretty wet.

[Zeph]

Originally Posted by delav

Erik, where can we find a link to some of your commonly used terms and swing checkpoints?  This used to be in your sig, and may help others understand what is meant by 'secondary axis tilt.'

The list has moved in to the Wiki entry Big List of Golf Terminology . It is usually featured in the "Recent Wikis" at the bottom of the page. Secondary axis tilt is however not featured there.

Secondary axis tilt is the spine tilting away from the target, preferably on the downswing. There are two ways to achieve that position, one being right and one being wrong. You can create a little secondary axis tilt at address by nudging the hips just slightly forward, a move S&T; sometimes use to help get the feeling of weight forward, more so with the driver than irons. Read/watch more here and here .

The right way is to not move the head laterally, while the hips slide forward.

The wrong way is to move the head (upper body) back and not getting the hips forward.

Head dipping a little is no problem, too much head dip from other reasons can of course be a problem.

Here are some pictures to demonstrate.

Hips forward, head has remained centered, weight is forward, perfect.

Head back, hips back, weight back, terrible.

As always you can use the search function on the forum, or use the search term " site:thesandtrap.com secondary axis tilt " to find more information and demonstrations. Here is a recent thread.

Note that if you flip/cast the club too much, no amount of hip slide or perfect secondary axis tilt can prevent you from hitting it fat.

[iacas]

Thanks Zeph.

I plan to do a longer post on "secondary axis" tilt, but the cliff's notes are that there are two ways to get it: tilting your upper center back or pushing your hips forward.

The "current" swing (for lack of a better term) has your upper center positioned back at the start and the hips push forward a little. The S&T; swing has the upper center stable and centered and the hips pushing forward a little more.

Anyway, secondary axis tilt will "shallow" the swing, as will jumping and tucking the butt to get the club out of the ground sooner. Kind of depends where you're looking for the shallowing - earlier (secondary axis tilt) or later (jumping, tucking, extending).