My Swing (Macmike2112)

[Macmike2112]

Decided it was time to get some tips from the pros... :P

Here is my swing, I adjust it seemingly daily and on every shot, I'm sure something not advisable.

The first two are a 7 iron and the second is my 3 wood which I typically hit off the tee.

I slice my 3W pretty badly and my irons tend to block or come off badly.

I'm trying to find a slice-cure yet have been unsuccessful. However, my irons hit pretty darn straight today for some reason.

Also, I'm hitting of the second deck of my local indoor driving range, gotta love Ohio weather...

I am taking golf much more serious than ever now and may try out for the team if I feel I'm good enough, even though I'm a junior, will be a Senior by next year.

Lastly, I'm 6'5", so if I'm crouching or something like that, I know I need new/longer irons, I'm working on it... I'm 17. haha

Any help will be more appreciated than you know, thank you in advance! :)

[jesup]

Hey man! Here are a few things that caught my eye.  These are a few basic steps I think you should take to start improving your ball striking.  I am by no means a professional instructor. I've been playing since I was 3, though :)

1.  If I were you, I would put the ball further back in my stance.  Try about 2 inches further left  The ball position you have for your 7-iron looks more like the position of a 3-iron or fairway metal.

Reason:  When the ball is further up in your stance with a shorter club, it naturally prevents your swing to come completely through the ball, which results in the club face striking the ball at an angle that will produce the slice spin.

2.   Try this to see what it feels like: Take it back a little further inside than what you think, and bring it down on a plane even further inside.  This swing plane is usually executed to produce a draw.

Reason:  Observe your swing plane.  Notice you take it back on an outside plane, and either come back on that same outside plane, or even further outside of that plane.  Think about it.  This will be cause your club head to descend on the ball at such an angle that will cause that slice spin.  Furthermore, if your ball position is too far left, this will cause even more slice spin.

3.  Work on a more fluid swing execution.  Start by being completely still before you begin your swing.  Feel all of your energy gather at your feet and move up into your legs.

Begin your swing by taking this energy and swaying your body ever so slightly to the right before bringing your forearms back (notice I didn't say your hands).

Don't think of your hands swinging the club.  I can tell you have a "handsy" swing based on how early your wrists break on your backswing.

Let your wrists break naturally .  This normally happens when the club is parallel with the ground or even with your belt.

With that being said, you seem to have a good tempo.  I know you're not swinging for the fences because you maintain a good head position, your left elbow doesn't collapse at impact, and your left heel stays planted on your down swing.  This is good!

Reason: Ok that was a stupidly long step that probably had 5 things to work on... but back to fluidity: This sounds like it doesn't do much to cure a slice, but it's a definite building block in producing a sound, reproducible swing.  Golf is about consistency.  That's why it's best to simplify everything you can to eliminate potential variables.  If you're stuck with a swing that produces a  7 yard fade every single time, you can join the PGA tour because you know exactly where the ball is going!

4.  Now that you have potential energy stored up at the top of your fluid back swing, shift your weight from right to left.  You should end up with 80% of your weight on your left arch/heel.  I noticed that a lot of your weight after you strike the ball is on your right foot.  Did you used to play baseball?

Reason:   This is yet another reason why your swing is prone to slicing.  When you properly shift your weight, the club head fully drives through the ball.  Theoretically, if your weight shift is executed absolutely perfect, the ball should have nothing but back spin on it.  This brings up another factor that I won't get into, that being how your upper and lower body interact with each other.  If one is ahead of the other or vice-versa, all of this changes.  MIND BLOWING!!

So to recap, start by

1.  Putting the ball further back with shorter irons and move to the left as you use longer clubs

2.  Changing your swing plane

3.  Focusing on making your swing more fluid from start to finish

4.  Shifting your weight from right to left.

You have a good swing though, man.  Work on this stuff and post another video, I'd love to see your swing progress!

[Macmike2112]

Thanks so much, Jesup! I will definielty work on that, especially the feet, I never thought of the right to left foot action. And thanks for the compliments, but yes I did play baseball. Haha I will work on everything and post another in a while :)

[inthecup]

I second the weight transfer.  You should feel a forward slide of the hips.  You should be rotating your hips at the start of the down swing.  Your left heal should be slightly off the ground at impact.

I'll bet you hit a lot of fat shots., this is the cure.

[Ctp722]

It looks to me like you come over the top just slightly which would cause the slice.

One way I try to fix this is to just try to hit the inside of the ball, see how it works.