My Swing (B of H)

[B of H]

I've been having issues with getting to my left side lately without standing up a bit through impact.  I'm taking lessons but the instructor i'm with isn't really a 'drill' guy and his swing thoughts aren't really working for me so far after a three weeks and 3 lessons.

what i'm being told:

1) left hip needs to clear behind me more - when I focus on this I tend to spin out a little off my right foot initially.

2) at the same time my left arm tends to work out away from the body too much - his swing thought is 'bend the left arm on the downswing as quickly as possible' which isn't working for me.

3) also my torso tends to be out of sync with the lower body and either I come through too fast with the torso or my torso stops and I flip at it with my hands

4) my right knee is definately moving towards the ball a little on the downswing but i'm not sure if this is a cause or effect situation.  If I focus on keeping my right knee back then I can hit good shots and maintain my spine angle but it causes me to use my arms and hands more which is what i'm trying to get away from.

so my miss lately has been mostly a slight pull/hook which is most prevalent on the longer clubs.  On bad swings my divots tend to be like a windshield wiper pattern with the club coming in slightly open and closing at the end.  When I try to keep my torso pointed down and turning I hit it fat and/or pull hook it.

tips?

- could this be from too much grip pressure in the left hand?

- should I be hitting balls with a headcover under my left arm?

I've tried the rear end on the chair drill, rear end against the wall drill etc...  I really need something that I can do without a prop other than perhaps a reflector rod on the range or perhaps a swing thought that kind of puts the whole move together for me.

[iacas]

You're suffering from early extension, which is perhaps better known as "lack of regaining flexion."

I'm going to ask Mike to give you some drills.

P.S. Not a fan of "clear the left hip behind you." Slide forward more. If your hip is "clearing" good luck getting to the left side - it ain't happenin'.

[Stretch]

Practice hitting high, soft little 40 - 50 yard cut lobs/pitches with a much lower lofted club than you'd usually use. Something like 7 iron is good. Forces you to stay in your inclination to the ground, keep your hands down and keep rotating through if you want to pull off the shot.

[B of H]

Originally Posted by iacas

You're suffering from early extension, which is perhaps better known as "lack of regaining flexion."

I'm going to ask Mike to give you some drills.

P.S. Not a fan of "clear the left hip behind you." Slide forward more. If your hip is "clearing" good luck getting to the left side - it ain't happenin'.

thanks,  I appreciate it.

i'm still compressing/trapping the ball but it's less consistent and i'm hitting the ball all over the place.  So are you saying that I should be feeling more of a hip 'bump' towards the target to start the downswing and less of a focus on rotation?

one thing i've also done recently is I've started flaring my left foot open a little more than I used to, maybe 20 degrees, where as it used to be about 5 degrees probably.  So that might have something to do with me spinning out as well I guess.

[B of H]

Originally Posted by Stretch

Practice hitting high, soft little 40 - 50 yard cut lobs/pitches with a much lower lofted club than you'd usually use. Something like 7 iron is good. Forces you to stay in your inclination to the ground, keep your hands down and keep rotating through if you want to pull off the shot.

I still hit trouble shots or big benders just fine especially big cuts/slices.   I ended up playing a big cut into the house the other day on the last 6 holes because it was the only thing working consistently at the time.  There was 20mph winds which kinda sucked though with that shot, had to aim OB on one hole that was left to right wind but ended up hitting it dead center and barely avoiding a tree on the edge of the fairway.

So your advice makes a lot of sense to me.  thanks.

[mvmac]

Early extension is due to not regaining flexion on the downswing.  We are getting back into flexion as we move our weight and hips forward.  I agree with iacas, I don't like the clearing the hips feel, that is what is leading to torso and right knee issues.  Need to get the hips more forward and feel like the belt buckle is facing the ground on the down swing and followthrough.  Your probably hitting it fat when you feel the torso pointing down because there is a lot of weight on you right foot, right knee is too flexed  Some drills:

- Ball Forward drill with alignment stick in the middle of the stance.  If you don't stay in your inclination(spine angle) there is a good chance you'll hit the alignment stick.  Have to regain flexion to hit the ball.  Ball is placed a ball or two outside the left foot. You can see how forward I'm trying to get with my hands and weight.

- Using an alignment stick that I have to swing "under".  PP#5 is just keeping the connection with my upper right arm to my torso.  The alignment stick is just outside the ball and angled at about 45*.  Same type of feel with the first drill.  Hands work lower and around, not up and away.

- This one I did with my old camera, need to update it.  Alignment stick just outside the right knee.  Have to keep it straighter and have the weight/hips moving forward so my knee doesn't touch the stick on the downswing.  You can see how my belt is facing downward at impact and the followthrough.

[B of H]

thanks!

yeah, I just looked at some video from last week at the range that I forgot I shot.  I think these drills are exactly what I need, thank you so much!

[B of H]

okay, I didn't do these drills yet but here is some video, i've got some serious bad habits going to say the least.  I tried to pick ones that went left/favoring the heel of the club ( per the issue at hand).

-spine seems to want to raise just prior to the completion of the backswing then really raises to start down

[mvmac]

[B of H]

thanks for the help.  so try to keep my right knee straighter on the downswing?  and/or try to keep my chest pointed down etc?

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by B of H

thanks for the help.  so try to keep my right knee straighter on the downswing?  and/or try to keep my chest pointed down etc?

Yes, right knee straighter by doing those drills, getting more weight forward and keeping the heel on the ground longer.  Instead of the weight/pressure being on the toes, the weight will be rolled to the instep of the foot, also called banking the right foot.  Like Freddy

[B of H]

I used the first two drills today on the range and they helped, especially the first one.  The second one helped remind me to clear to the left but I tended to just pull the ball to avoid the stick and I was getting awfully steep on both.  Overall though I think a few sessions of focusing on these drills is going to make a difference, I just need to keep at it.

if i'm getting steep/taking deep divots then should I be focusing on turning through the shot more?

[mvmac]

If your taking deep divot your hips aren't going forward enough, their is too much weight on the rear foot and that foot probably isn't banking.  Copy Freddy and Heath Slocum, hips forward, right foot banks, heel does't lift off the ground until after impact.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by mvmac

If your taking deep divot your hips aren't going forward enough, their is too much weight on the rear foot and that foot probably isn't banking.  Copy Freddy and Heath Slocum, hips forward, right foot banks, heel does't lift off the ground until after impact.

Exactly. If it's not that it's that the head is also going forward with the hips.

[B of H]

I hit 100 balls with the 1st drill today and it made a noticeable difference.  Now when I swing with a towel under my arms I can hit shots perfectly where as before I was hitting them fat/thin due to the early extension.  I'm going to keep using these drills and i'll post an updated video next week.

Thanks again.

[B of H]

I took another lesson yesterday and we focused more on the path of the grip through impact (more around the body/belt buckle) and keeping my back to the target longer then clearing my hips.  I was getting into my left side too quickly if anything.  By focusing on the butt of the club passing past and around my belt along with letting my arms drop it cured the early extension.  The whole keeping the leg straight thing was causing blocks and push-cuts along with getting too steep.