My Swing (cfree5119)

[cfree5119]

I haven't played golf in about 3 years now... I am just getting back into the swing of things, literally and figuratively. I use to shoot in the high 80s to low 90s pretty regularly and I want to get back there and be better! Here is video I took of my pitching wedge and 6 iron. There is one swing from behind and one from in front. I am hitting with a open face, have way too much lower body action, and a ton of other things wrong. Can anyone please help me with my swing and give me some things to work on? Thank you all so much!

Pitching Wedge

6 Iron

[pond prowler]

Since you seem eager for feedback, I'll give you a few things to "snack" on before the real pros give you some real things to "munch" on with fancy snap shots, figures, and drills...  Take my comments with a grain of salt!

First, I REALLY like your takeaway from the down-the-line perspective with one obvious exception.  Your club face is pretty shut with a slightly bowed left wrist at the top.  From your face-on setup, it's apparent that you have a pretty strong grip.  Even more so with your right hand; I can see a lot of your right thumb pad.  I'd prefer to see the "Vs" formed between your thumb and index finger pointing somewhere between your right should and right edge of your neck.  Your hands are also behind the ball at the setup position; probably to make the club look square to your target line considering your grip.

With such a strong grip, I don't think you could properly release the club in the "traditional" manner without hitting a pretty formidable hook.  I can't quite slow down the video enough to see exact impact position, but it appears that the club is passing the hands without turning the club over causing the slightly open club face.

So, if I were you, I'd first and foremost work on your grip- making it a bit weaker.  From there, you're going to have to work on properly releasing the club with hands ahead of the ball at impact and the shoulders/arms/hands driving the club face more towards square and then closed well after impact.  The grip and release are very coupled; so only fixing the grip initially, will probably exacerbate your open club face and fade/slice ball flight unitl the release is improved.

All-in-all, I think you have a lot of VERY good things working for you in your swing: good take away and pretty athletic move on the downswing that puts you in pretty good positions up to impact.  You're not far from really striping it!

Other things worth consideration from others include: slightly slouched upper body and open shoulders at address (maybe pull your shoulders back a bit and square them up with your hips/feet), and slightly bent left arm at the top (although Goeff Ogilvy gets away with it).

To me, starting with a bit more conventional grip is more important than all else.  Then deal with the other issues as needed.  I hope you post a video after working on some things, because you have A LOT of potential!  Hope others give you better instruction!  Good luck!

[cfree5119]

Thank you. I sure do appreciate it. I look forward to more answers. Everything you said makes complete sense.

[uttexas]

address: Try moving your hands further forward at set up. Your hands are behind the ball. At impact you want your hands well ahead of the ball (to achieve a downward strike hitting the ball first and then the ground), and setting up with your hands more forward will help you achieve this and ingrain the feel. Your right hand is in a much stronger position than your left hand (and I'd say your right hand is in too strong of a position) Your left hand "v" is aligned well--just place your palmar crease over the left thumb and align your right "v" with your left. backswing: looks good, wouldn't change anything for now. Forward swing: at impact, your hands are not forward enough (partly from the set up issue); but mostly you are sagging your legs into impact. Think push the hips as forward as possible and straighten your left leg as much as possible. You might feel as though you are jumping forward and snapping your left leg straight. Getting more forward and extending your legs more will create more room for your hands to get more forward so you don't flip with your hands.

[cfree5119]

Thank you for the help. I have adjusted my grip, posture, as well as my hand position at address.

I believe my problem is coming in my down swing. Do you have any good info to correct my downswing? Thank you.

[uttexas]

Glad to hear you have adjusted some things at set up. Agree, backswing looks good--you do sway off the ball a bit, but not a whole lot. The major issue with your forward swing is that you are not straightening you legs enough going into impact. Another less major issue is that the initial move in the downswing with your arms is slightly out toward the ball, instead of down. Try working on really straightening your legs going into impact. Really push off the ground on the forward swing, you might feel like you are jumping laterally forwards. This will enable you to get your left shoulder and arm ahead of the clubface at impact (forward leaning clubshaft at impact)--so you hit the ball first then the ground, approaching the ball from an inside path [VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uymsv7L2PJA[/VIDEO] [VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uleZH2nRy9U[/VIDEO] [VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu6kHbVkuNA[/VIDEO]

[cfree5119]

Okay... I think I found a main root problem in my swing. I am flipping at impact... thus the open club face. Any drills to alleviate that problem?

[cfree5119]

Here is a updated video of my 6 iron from the side and front. I have fixed my posture and grip. I am on plane in my backswing. However, on my down swing I come over  and hit out to in.

What are some good drills to fix me coming over the top and hit in to out? Thanks.

[Phil McGleno]

Get the arms down faster. Karate chop.

[uttexas]

The updated swing video has significant improvements compared to the previous videos. On the most recent video, you approach the ball from the inside (even though the forward swing is a hair OTT)--You hit what looks like a straight push , which can only be hit by approaching the ball from the inside with an open club face that is square to the in to out swing path. The initial direction the ball travels is due to clubface at impact. The flight curve is due to swing path (in to out=draw out to in=fade) To fix a straight push you move your swing arc bottom more forward, so that the club strikes the ball with an open clubface but a more in to out path (the club face will be more closed relative to path by moving the the swing arc forward). [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/150682/width/1000/height/800][IMG]http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/150682/width/1000/height/500[/IMG][/URL] Thus, with your current swing, the fix is to push your hips more forward and up by straightening your right leg more into impact. If you can work on pushing your right leg straight on the downswing, you will turn your straight push into a push draw. What your right (rear leg) should look like at impact [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/150683/width/1000/height/800][IMG]http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/150683/width/1000/height/500[/IMG][/URL] More details: Couple reasons you come OverTheTop--on the backswing, you bring the clubhead just a smidgen inside you hands early--so you swing under plane, then when you get to the top, because you have come under plane, you come over the backswing plane on the downswing. Only a few golfers can master the timing involved with this move (for ex: Matt Kuchar) to hit the ball consistently well. Comments on the new video: Address: you have overcorrected the strong right hand--place it between where you have it now and where it was before. Move the handle of the club a bit more forward at address, so that it is in line with the inside of your left thigh--by having more shaft lean at address you will encourage a more forward swing bottom at impact. Flare out both feet a bit--this will help with your backswing and forwardswing turns. Backswing: I really like how well you keep your right arm connected to your torso. The initial move on your backswing--you just barely flare out with your left shoulder and roll your arms in, which starts bringing the clubshaft behind your hands early. Try moving your front shoulder down and in toward your rear foot throughout the backswing. you can see with the initial move on the backswing, that your front shoulder goes out instead of in, due to the rolling/flaring maneuver. you bring the clubhead behind your hands a bit early an go under plane. Also, you sway just a bit backward in the backswing, if you minimize the sway backward, it will be easier to get more forward at impact Forward swing--push off the right instep hard and straighten your right leg. As far as drills, see the ones I posted previously.

[cfree5119]

Will work on it... you gave me some spot on analysis. This is identical to what I am seeing in my own video analysis where I am drawing the planes. Hopefully I will soon report back with good news. Thanks for the help!!

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by Phil McGleno

Get the arms down faster. Karate chop.

This seems like the right advice for a flip, but doesn't he need his hands a little higher at the top for it to work for him?  It looks like dropping from his position would get him even more stuck on the downswing than he is right now.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

This seems like the right advice for a flip, but doesn't he need his hands a little higher at the top for it to work for him?  It looks like dropping from his position would get him even more stuck on the downswing than he is right now.

I think you misunderstand the advice. His left arm (his "fourth power accumulator") is not moving across his chest fast enough. It's being left behind. At least I think that's what Phil's trying to get at.