Upright Swing: Good or bad?

[jcm011]

Let me preface this by saying that I believe the biggest thing killing my golf game is that I am constantly attempting to make changes and end up destroying my swing. My "natural" swing (for better or worse) has always been a little more vertical with my head being almost above the ball on shorter clubs.However, in the process of trying to create a proper swing and using my body with dead arms I have been attempting to flatten out the plane a bit. It is not working. I am seriously getting worse at golf (7 out of 10 balls on the range with my most comfortable club were ridiculously flubbed today with an embarrassing loss of distance and poor flight path). My question is: if a more upright swing is what I have always felt more comfortable doing and I get ok results should I just stick with it and try to groove it into an excellent swing or should I avoid it being so steep and suffer the bad shots until I can get professional help. I'm only 5' 10" btw.

I just want some opinions on this because the quest for a "perfect swing" is killing my timing, my results (slice on one shot, pull hook on the next), and overall, my enjoyment of the game. Ultimate question being-- Can I become a good golfer with a pretty upright swing?

Thanks for your input,

Jacob

P.S. As far as lessons or getting my swing looked at by a pro; I simply can't afford them right now. I am technically an intern that gets housing and food but no paycheck.

[carpediem4300]

Your are realising what I realised a few weeks back, by getting all technical and changing one small thing to correct something, merely creates a problem elsewhere

I used to have a very flat swing plane, which i would shank the ball, slice the ball, and top the ball alot

I have since just tried to forget everything I know about the swing and start from scratch, its taking time and my game has gone to complete pot,......but it will be worth it

you probably think you have a really steep backswing but check in a mirror and see where your hands end up, if they are inline with what i would call the target line, so back and away from your body, then indeed it is far to steep,.......if they end up inline with your shoulders or in that general area then it hasnt ended to steep, this is where i am trying to get my hands at the moment instead of having them behind my shoulder indicating a flat plane.

once you figure out your swing plane that is when you can look at other areas such as alignment, grip, psoture etc.

Remember, everybody's swing is different,

[iacas]

Both of you illustrate the idea that it's possible to really know what you're doing without using a camera. You may not be doing what you think you're doing, and if you're doing it on your own, you'll quite likely get the order of priority wrong.

The golf club, your hands, your arms move in three dimensions on the backswing: back, up, and in. Too much of the "in" and they're "flat" and too much of the "up" and they're "upright. I'm generally opposed to an actual "upright" swing because it's off the optimal, efficient plane. At some point you'll have to "drop" onto/into plane and that "dropping" is an out-of-plane movement. It's not force applied down the plane line.

But who knows if you're actually swinging upright.

At the very least, if you cannot afford lessons, I'd recommend shooting some video - the better quality, the better the analysis, and that includes where the camera is located - and posting them in a "My Swing" thread in the Instruction section of this forum.

Good luck to you both. I was self-taught for a long time. You're going to hit a wall at some point, though, at which time your knowledge cannot help you anymore and you are simply stuck and searching.

[carpediem4300]

Cheers Iacas

I have videoed my swing and looked at it many times on the V1 golf app on my phone,....and couldnt figure out what i was doing wrong,

Ive jsut commented on the S&T thread which explains more!

[jcm011]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I just borrowed a camera (pretty good quality) and am waiting for it to charge and for the weather to clear up. Not gonna lie I'm a little worried about watching my swing because I think I'm going to be embarrassed lol. Pretty excited though because I've heard it helps point out problems!

Thanks again,

Jacob

[arogolf]

Video analysis= yes, you can really see what's going on. As a swing "sensation" or "feeling", I strike the ball better with a more upright swing plane, with all thefundamentals,grip, stance, posture, etc being in place. I think an upright plane produces a powerful swing with great leverage. If you prefer upright, stick with it and work on your fundamentals.

[nyhass]

I tried to go to a flatter plane & screwed myself all up. Went back to upright and keep my tempo slow = success.