My Swing (Holstein30)

[Kieran123]

Originally Posted by Holstein30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kieran123

It would be best to have your swing speed measured and then you will know what shaft you need....you may need an extra stiff

Ok I just got it checked and my clubhead speed is around 115-118, average around 116.7...I was using my new grip and I think a shortened back swing ...I also had my feet a lil closer together my back straight and I kept my balance throughout the entire swing...according to the machine my carry was around 270 and total distance around 295 or so...I can't wait to get to the range and get some video to post when the weather clears up

If that is true, then you need an XS shaft

[Holstein30]

Originally Posted by Kieran123

If that is true, then you need an XS shaft

I'm just telling you what the machine at Dick's told me and what the golf pro there told me.  I'm not trying to boast or brag cause club head speed isn't everything, and because I'm a high handicap as of right now anyways so I have nothing to brag about.  I'm just looking to improve as much as possible.  I am happy with the results and if the machines were accurate then I'm very happy with my tweaked swing (especially my grip), as it seems to be working well.  This was the first real feedback I have gotten since messing with it around the house, as the range has been flooded and I've only been able to basically practice swing without being able to hit any balls.

Thanks for the advice.  I may have to look into switching my shafts.  How much does it usually cost for a fairly decent shaft?  I would have to replace two shafts actually because my 3 hybrid is only a regular shaft and my driver is a stiff.

[Kieran123]

Originally Posted by Holstein30

I'm just telling you what the machine at Dick's told me and what the golf pro there told me.  I'm not trying to boast or brag cause club head speed isn't everything, and because I'm a high handicap as of right now anyways so I have nothing to brag about.  I'm just looking to improve as much as possible.  I am happy with the results and if the machines were accurate then I'm very happy with my tweaked swing (especially my grip), as it seems to be working well.  This was the first real feedback I have gotten since messing with it around the house, as the range has been flooded and I've only been able to basically practice swing without being able to hit any balls.

Thanks for the advice.  I may have to look into switching my shafts.  How much does it usually cost for a fairly decent shaft?  I would have to replace two shafts actually because my 3 hybrid is only a regular shaft and my driver is a stiff.

It varies between $70-$250

[Holstein30]

Originally Posted by Kieran123

It varies between $70-$250

Alright...I guess I'll have to head back to dicks sometime and get fitted after I'm fully comfortable with my swing.  Should be heading out to the range tomorrow so look for some vids on the way soon.

[aavendano14]

Hi Holstein,

Things that jumped to me:

-Definetely too much weight on your toes and that is why you are falling forward. Try to bend your knees a bit more and have the center of your chest more towards your heels (right now your chest is sticking out over your feet)

-Swinging too hard. This is a good rule of thumb: swing as hard as you can while remaining in balance. If you loose balance then you are swinging too hard. Also, a lot of people have said to shorten your back swing: try to keep your club from going past horizontal at the very top. In the front view of your swing, keep your club pointing to 9 at the top. Right now its pointing more like at 8 or 7 dont you think?

Anyways, good luck!!

[BugDude]

A couple things that jumped out at me that have nto already been mentioned:

1)  Your hands are very low at the top of the backswing.  I've struggled with that for many years and I always try to get my hands as high as possible (I visualize actually pushing my hands up and away from me).

2)  Your right arm bends A LOT at the top of the backswing.  Try to keep your right arm as straight as possible and let the wrists hinge rather than the elbow.  You will be surprised how much more leverage this produces with less effort.  From a physicis standpoint, think of the swing in terms of levers, arc, etc.  When the elbow bends, it reduces the size of the arc and the effectiveness of the lever.  I learned this through years upon years of splitting wood the old fashioned way.  Hands high, lead arm straight, hinge at the wrists generates more force and power with less effort splitting wood...same with the golf swing.

[Holstein30]

Alright thanks for the feedback everyone.  I'm taking everything and trying to apply it to my swing to see if it works.  Here is another video of some of my progress.  I still struggle with keeping my right arm straight but my balance, grip, and posture have improved (at least I think they have).  I'm still working on this swing quite a bit, so expect many more videos to come in the future.  Keep the feedback coming guys I really appreciate it and I do my best to apply all the feedback to give me a more solid swing whether it looks like it or not.  (mute the sound if you don't wanna listen to some music,  I just put in on there cause I figured it would be less boring that way)  Also there is a nice comparison near the end of my old swing and new swing side by side so you all can check that out for reference.

[BugDude]

Dude, your swing looks much improved to me.  With your height and flexibility there is no reason to swing your club past paralell (to the ground) at the top of your backswing.  By keeping your right arm straight and getting your hands as high as possible, you will create much more leverage and force with less effort than bending your arm in an effort to go past paralell.  Give it a try.  What you are trying to do is maximize the distance of your hands from the object (the ball).  That maximizes the force of the lever.  Bending the right elbow shortens that distance.  Think of it in terms of using a pry bar.  A longer pry bar can generate more leverage than a short one, but that is diminished as the distance of the pry point is increased.

This also gives you a greater chance of consistency with not only your driver but with all clubs.  It would be very difficult to time the unwinding of the lead arm to get the bottom of the arc at the ball the same with a driver and a sand wedge.  By keeping the lead arm straight, it's the same all the way through the bag.  It will greatly enhance consistency in ball striking.  You start the swing with the lead arm straight.  The goal is to return it to the same position.

As I've gotten older, rounder, and less flexible I have noticed that I get much better distance by keeping my left arm (righty) straight and shortening my swing and maximizing the distance of my hands from the ball.  I've had to learn to swing smarter, not harder, so I've learned how to make my swing more efficient.  When you get older, preserving energy throughout the round becomes a strategic element of consideration.

[Holstein30]

Originally Posted by BugDude

Dude, your swing looks much improved to me.  With your height and flexibility there is no reason to swing your club past paralell (to the ground) at the top of your backswing.  By keeping your right arm straight and getting your hands as high as possible, you will create much more leverage and force with less effort than bending your arm in an effort to go past paralell.  Give it a try.  What you are trying to do is maximize the distance of your hands from the object (the ball).  That maximizes the force of the lever.  Bending the right elbow shortens that distance.  Think of it in terms of using a pry bar.  A longer pry bar can generate more leverage than a short one, but that is diminished as the distance of the pry point is increased.

This also gives you a greater chance of consistency with not only your driver but with all clubs.  It would be very difficult to time the unwinding of the lead arm to get the bottom of the arc at the ball the same with a driver and a sand wedge.  By keeping the lead arm straight, it's the same all the way through the bag.  It will greatly enhance consistency in ball striking.  You start the swing with the lead arm straight.  The goal is to return it to the same position.

As I've gotten older, rounder, and less flexible I have noticed that I get much better distance by keeping my left arm (righty) straight and shortening my swing and maximizing the distance of my hands from the ball.  I've had to learn to swing smarter, not harder, so I've learned how to make my swing more efficient.  When you get older, preserving energy throughout the round becomes a strategic element of consideration.

Thanks for the feedback.  And I have been working on keeping my right arm straight on my backswing.  I also try to get my hands high but I have a little trouble with that.  It may not look like it in this video but I am not very flexible at all, but I am working on it.  As of right now I can't even reach down to my ankles with my knees straight.  I am working on keeping my right arm straight though and hopefully I can get it down in about a week or two.  If I can keep that arm straight then my club shouldn't go past parallel anymore.  The elbow bend is something that carried over from baseball so it may take it a lil while for it to feel more natural.  Keep the feedback coming though cause I feel like it is helping quite a bit.

[BugDude]

You've got a good swing, you're just fine tuning for consistency at this point.  Keep up the good work, it shows in the two videos.  See if you can find any older videos of Ernie Els swing (before his knee surgery).  He would "swing within himself" and keep everything centered and aligned.  Good mechanics and angles.  He never appeared to be over-swinging.  I attended the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky 14 or so years ago and I got to follow the most awesome twosome for a bunch of holes:  Ernie Els and Fred Couples.  That was a demonstration of smooth and power.  Ernie's swing (at that time) was textbook.

[Holstein30]

Originally Posted by BugDude

You've got a good swing, you're just fine tuning for consistency at this point.  Keep up the good work, it shows in the two videos.  See if you can find any older videos of Ernie Els swing (before his knee surgery).  He would "swing within himself" and keep everything centered and aligned.  Good mechanics and angles.  He never appeared to be over-swinging.  I attended the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky 14 or so years ago and I got to follow the most awesome twosome for a bunch of holes:  Ernie Els and Fred Couples.  That was a demonstration of smooth and power.  Ernie's swing (at that time) was textbook.

Thanks man!  And I will definitely take a look at that.  I'm doing my best to develop a consistent swing that I am confident in.  I now think my main problem is remembering to do the little things.  I find that I get ahead of myself and then get all outta wack when I forget to watch my posture or the position of the ball in my stance.  I'm mainly having problems with repeating my swing time and time again.  I go from hitting a really good few balls to hitting some really bad balls which in turn causes me to get frustrated so I start rushing myself too much.  I'm definitely working hard on it and I'll keep this thread updated with my progress.  Once again I wanna thank everyone for all the feedback, I really do appreciate it.

[BugDude]

Too many swing thoughts can get in our way.  I focused on tempo more than anything.  Hitting plastic wiffle balls can help with practicing tempo.  Try to hit them as far as you can and you will find that smooth tempo yields the best results for that practice.  Make a game out of it trying to better yourself and figuring out what works best.  It reveals a lot and you can do it in the yard.  Good luck to you...I'll keep my eye peeled for your progress.

[Holstein30]

tl;dr I'm back. Haven't played much the past 2 years. I'm looking to change that and improve a ton. Will be setting goals on here to keep me honest and keep you all updated. Videos coming once weather warms up. Any advice is appreciated.

Oh man it's been a LONG time. Nearly two years ago I started this thread and worked on improving for the first couple of months, then I guess life hit a little and I didn't have much time to play or practice. I've played less than 10 times (maybe less than 5) in the past year, but this year I've dedicated myself to playing more and practicing more. Too bad it's winter and I can't really get out to the range or the course. I've tried to do some things indoors (I live in a small apartment with 3 others and there is no yard for me to hit on) but there really isn't a whole lot I can do at the moment. I went out about 3 weeks ago when we had a nice day and actually shot fairly well (shot +8 on 9 holes). I don't have any videos to put up at the moment but once it warms up you all can expect to see a lot come out. I will say that my driving is borderline atrocious judging from those 9 holes a few weeks ago. I sliced every drive and I can't seem to hit the center of the face to save my life (almost always hit on the inside and a bit high). Luckily I made some crazy recovery shots and was putting really well to save par/bogey on most of the holes. If there is one thing that I have been able to work on indoors its my grip. I feel that I have a pretty solid grip now but I guess you all will have to wait until I can get some videos up to judge for yourself. Ultimately I plan on setting some goals this time around and keeping them public as extra motivation to actually reach those goals (I like proving I can do something to myself, but I also tend to give myself too much leeway in my goals when no one else knows about them so that's why I'm going to put them below so I can't really cheat on them plus it keeps you all updated as well). I apologize for the long read. Any help/advice is always appreciated.

Goals (fairly broad for now):

-work on at least one thing each day (i.e. flexibility, driving, putting, grip, strength, etc.)

-increase flexibility a ton

-develop a consistent swing

-work on my feel

-develop a pre-shot routine

-work on chipping and putting consistency

-work on multiple shots 100 yards and in

-stop pulling my irons

-be able to hit the fairway with the driver (aka stop slicing)

-stop over thinking and getting a little hot headed

A more precise goal of mine would be to break 80 before August.

That's it for now. Be on the look out for some videos once the weather finally warms up (hopefully sooner than later). Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone on their 2013 season, let's make it the best one yet :).

[Holstein30]

Alright. After tearing my pcl and tearing the ligaments and tendons out of my ankle twice I have finally managed to get a video up of my swing. I haven't been working on it much lately but hopefully I will be changing that. I've been making much better contact with the ball the last few times I've played although my shots aren't all that accurate. I tend to pull my irons and sometimes my woods and I think that's because I come over the top too much. I have been trying to fix that and I feel like I have made some progress. I played 18 today and had some interesting results. I ended up drawing (with the occasional hook) nearly every other ball (it used to be that I would slice every other). I hit a couple of slices but none of them were all that big and I would actually say that they were almost baby fades. Anyways thank you all for taking a look at my swing and let me know what you think.

[Holstein30]

Here is my current golf swing. I am starting to try and improve this as much as possible. I have mostly been focusing on the fundamentals (grip, posture, alignment, ball position) lately and have not really touched any of my swing mechanics. I know that my ball position still needs some work and I have been working hard on my alignment as well. My driver is all over the place. I hit maybe one or two good drives per round and the rest are mostly pulled badly or snap hooked. I also pop up my driver every now and then due to the fact that I hit down on the ball with my driver instead of hitting up on it (this is likely partially due to my ball position). My irons have been decent but I have a tendency to pull them a good 15-20 yards and sometimes more. I cannot really touch my 5 or 4 iron as I just plain can't hit them. Even when I feel like I make decent contact I still hit the ball about as far as my 6 or 7 iron. I can usually hit my hybrid fairly well but do end up pulling or pushing it every few shots. Over the next few weeks I am still going to mostly focus purely on fundamentals and then I will try to start tweaking my actually mechanics. I know I need to get my hands higher in the backswing and I also need to work on a smoother transition. As always any and all feedback/criticism is appreciated.

[Jeremie Boop]

2 things. Definitely ball position and your hips slide in the backswing. Need to work on A Centered Pivot