Avoiding fatties ....

[Gerald]

Last year I restarted golf and after a few months browsing the world wide web and lurking at the Sandtrap's forum I decided to jump in and a little later I discovered S&T ..... got enthousiastic about it and bought the book, etc.....

Went learning it from the book, no big deal as for me ...... I had 1 lesson 25 years ago, no succes stopped playing golf a few years later at hc. 14 orso, and restarted last year, took 1 lesson bc. all my shots went left (pull).

Anyway I liked the instruction but rather spended $$$ on the next better driver than taking lessons, first question on ball flight laws .... dead wrong answer, didn't even bother to ask a second question.

So I tried S&T from the book, and the backswing looked a terrible lot like the Greg Norman powermove, right pocket back / fuller turn that I was using 25 orso years ago, so branding this into my backswing no problem ..... 5.000 balls further I kept hitting pushes (straight to the right) by a few degrees, just a few .... not a big deal, but just annoying enough to stop S&T.;

Recently I picked up S&T again, as I kept the S&T backswing and it is really grooved in, I focussed sofar mostly on Weight Forward and a Forward Lean of the shaft and the results are pretty good, I have hit some really great long approaches, that went dead straight and long at the pin from 180 yds in.

Last few days I have been practicing maintaining the flying wedge and guess what ....... hello pushes and another thing that puzles me a bit is that I have some fat contacts (ground first, ball second) that still fly pretty good, but 85-90 percent of a good stroke.

Sorry no video's yet, working on that , but I damaged my left ankle by stepping into a nasty spot yesterday and cannot turn properly at the moment.

[Zeph]

What exactly do you do when trying to maintain the flying wedge? I've tried holding the right wrist bent, but that just doesn't work for me. Here are some notes on what I've found to be working better.

• Drive the ball into the ground, maybe imagine the ball is the head of a nail you are hitting into the ground at a 4-6º angle. Good video .
• Try to feel you hit the ball first, then the ground.
• Karate chop an invisible wall outside the left foot. Swing the arms faster.
• Drive the hands through the downswing, try to focus more on the hands than the clubhead. #3 pressure point.
• Focus on the finish position, or when the club is parallell to the ground on the follow through, try to keep the hands ahead of the clubhead at that point. Video .

It has taken some time, but I can feel #3PP now on a good shot. It just takes time getting used to the feeling. I'm not cured, but have made good improvement. A video helps since we can see if there are other parts of the swing contributing to the bad shots. I did some work on my posture and straightening the back knee yesterday and I've never hit the ball better. Good contact may come from a very different part of the swing.

[Gerald]

Thanks for the video !

I am actually trying to keep the V of the forearms intact as long as possible, that way the ball is pushed to the right, I imagine the face to be openend at impact ...... courcing the push. If the face would be 1 or maybe 2 degree less open, it would curve back (baby draw ... I guess).

[Zeph]

The backswing can also lead to trouble. This is a general tip, may or may not apply to you. Video evidence will tell for sure.

Try extending the right arm. Pull the left arm away from your body. You won't be able to extend it too far as long as the left arm is crossed over your chest, but it will prevent the right elbow from bending past 90º. If you get good extensor action on the backswing, the only way to increase the swing length is by rotating the shoulders more. Extensor action works as a back stop on the top where you can't get the arms going farther back, relative to the torso. It sounds and definitely feels like you are going the wrong way. You just loaded up the right elbow (accumulator 1), but then you are going to extend it again while going back. But give this a go, it is the best way to prevent that long backswing, elbow creeping behind your back, left arm bending and right arm bending past 90º.

Done properly, you get a much better position at the top from where the hands have a chance to get down to the ball in time. A longer backswing means the hips must rotate more or move slower down or the arms faster to get it synchronized up.

You can also look into keeping the right elbow more on the side of your body, not letting it drift behind you towards the back. If that is a problem.

The Swing Extender is a pretty good training aid, but you can still slide the elbow behind your back with it. And make sure you attach it properly and firmly. Poor attachment can make it possible to bend the right elbow too far. I would still recommend extensor action. The swing extender physically stops the elbow bending, but it still wants to. If you get it into the muscles that the right arm is extending, there is no chance you can bend the right elbow too much. It can also be easier to ingrain.

Extensor Action Drill , Extensor Action Drill 2

Lynn Blake Explaining Extensor Action

Mvmac Student Working on Extensor Action

Grant Waite on Extensor Action

Getting the club past parallel is no problem as long as it's not achieved by lack of extensor action and wrapping the arms around your body. A bigger shoulder rotation will also affect the synch between the upper and lower body. If people want to swing like Bubba, please go ahead, but don't expect to be as successful with it as he is. Also note that Bubba got a big shoulder rotation and big hip rotation. That helps him preventing the hips from getting ahead of the arms on the downswing. He even lifts the front foot heel off the ground to get more hip rotation.

I'll be working on better extensor action myself once I get my legs a big fixed up. I frequently hit some 2/4 - 3/4 shots with a club in my apartment and working on extensor action. I usually hit the ball very solid when doing this, so it may help you too.

[iacas]

Gerald,

Sorry, I only have time to make a general statement here...

Feel ain't real, and though you might feel that you're doing something, odds are you probably aren't, and it's virtually 100% certain that you're not doing it the same amount that you feel you're doing something.

Video, even so-so quality, is an absolute must for anyone undertaking any swing change with any swing "pattern" in this day and age. The high speed cameras are so affordable there's no reason not to. If you're going to save the $800 or $1000 or whatever on professional instruction, spend the $200 on a camera (and if you are taking lessons, supplement your practice with a camera!).

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by Gerald

Thanks for the video !

I am actually trying to keep the V of the forearms intact as long as possible, that way the ball is pushed to the right, I imagine the face to be openend at impact ...... courcing the push. If the face would be 1 or maybe 2 degree less open, it would curve back (baby draw ... I guess).

Check your alignment. It's possible you are aiming too far right of your target and hitting it straight. I am noticing this as I transition to more flying wedge. Previously, I would aim too far right to compensate for my early release. I thought I was playing a push-draw, when in fact it was pull-draw.

Zeph's idea below is working wonders for me as I was always too obsessed with the clubhead. I am now concentrating on where my hands are at impact and that's ahead of the ball. The feeling is they are 3 feet ahead of the clubhead at impact! I am now really starting to compress the golf ball for the first time in my life.

"Drive the hands through the downswing, try to focus more on the hands than the clubhead. #3 pressure point." ""