Is there a "right way" to swing?

[Cossackred]

This may be a stupid question, but I'm pretty new to golf and have seen or been taught/shown 4-5 different ways to swing a golf club in the past 3 months. Now I'm pretty mixed up. I've tried 4-5 different grips, different release points, and different ways to stand.  Is there a "right way" to do each of those? Or do people just find a way that works for them and keep trying to get consistent?

I'm right handed

Stances:

1: feet square.

2: back foot slightly slanted in to stop from over rotating

3: Back foot square and front foot out at a 45 degree angle

Grips:

1: Neutral grip

2: hands flat on the club, like I was clapping and the thumbs straight in the middle

3: left hand in the neutral position while the right hand is over to the right about 45 degrees

4: interlocked

5: overlap

6: double overlap ??

7: baseball

8: hammer grip

Back swing:

1: straight back and up then hinge, where the the club is pointing straight forwards and between the head and shoulder

2: going back 3/4 of the way where the club head is sort of straight up, but still turning the body behind

3: going back and bring the club all of the way around and having the head sort of over but off the right shoulder

Down swing:

1: drop the hands down to hip level and release kind of pushing the ball with the right hand

2: same thing but pulling through with the left

3: not dropping, but rolling the hands over early and throwing the right heel over while keeping the hands near my right pocket. Keeping the club head square from a foot or so behind me to a foot in front of me.

Follow through:

1: Keeping the club head square and following straight towards where you want the ball to go.

2: rolling the hands over and following straight towards where you want the ball to go.

3: continuing the same turn and rotation and bringing the hands around

Something else for any of these? Recommendations?

I know it's what ever works best or feels the best or whats best for my body....but what's the norm? the right swing that most average teachers throw at brand new students? Ideas? thoughts?

thanks!

[newtogolf]

You'll get a lot more and better feedback posting a video of your swing hitting a ball.

[Cossackred]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

You'll get a lot more and better feedback posting a video of your swing hitting a ball.

thats the thing, I'm not at all confident about my swing since I have so many different swings in my head. I'm not even sure which one to use when I go to practice. I was just hoping somone could kind of break down a swing that is "the norm" for beginners

[Paradox]

There are certain fundamentals that ANY swing should have, but the reality is that most everyone makes some kind of compensation somewhere during the swing.  No two swings will ever look alike, really.

Other than that, I'd say you have paralysis by analysis.  You are thinking of far too many things. What happens when you don't worry about having this here and that there and making sure you do this and focusing on getting that done and so on and so forth and just address the ball and swing?

[LeviTee]

Although not all swings are the same, they have one thing in common and that is striking the ball. Figure out what works for you as far as being able to strike the ball properly and let your clubs do what they were designed to do.

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by LeviTee

Although not all swings are the same, they have one thing in common and that is striking the ball.

True, but perhaps not comprehensive enough. Maybe we could rephrase as: "Although not all good swings are the same, they have one thing in common and that is striking the ball solidly ."

The first fundamental of golf is consistently hitting the golf ball before hitting the ground, which requires getting the low point of the swing in front of the ball position. There are players earning a living on the PGA tour using almost every kind of grip imaginable, almost every kind of backswing, downswing, follow through. But there is not one who does not hit the ground in almost exactly the same place on every swing, and that place is always in front of the golf ball.

To the OP, my personal opinion is that the two books which best address this fundamental as a starting point for instruction -- rather than simply a byproduct of all the finer points of technique that you mention -- are The Stack and Tilt Swing by Bennett and Plummer; and The Impact Zone by Bobby Clampett.

EDIT: Remembered a good video that makes rather the same point.

[Cossackred]

Originally Posted by Paradox

There are certain fundamentals that ANY swing should have, but the reality is that most everyone makes some kind of compensation somewhere during the swing.  No two swings will ever look alike, really.

Other than that, I'd say you have paralysis by analysis.  You are thinking of far too many things. What happens when you don't worry about having this here and that there and making sure you do this and focusing on getting that done and so on and so forth and just address the ball and swing?

When I forget about everything and just go use my old self made swing, I use to be able to usually hit my wedges through my 7 about where I want them to go. My 6-driver all sliced right. But at least I was hitting the ball in the right direction. My natural original swing hit the ball with my left arm and I was told I never "fired through" which got me a ton of easy power.

The different swings I've been shown all do similar things with the body, but all at different times. Some had the body shifting/turning before impact like in this video and some had the body still using the hands for power and letting the follow through shift the weight. The grips, release, and hand of control were all different. Only two swings of the 4-5 had me firing through powering the ball with my right hand with sort of a sweeping motion. One guy referred to it as swinging a big knife through the ground and slicing some grass in the direction you want the ball to go. Also talked about as pushing the ball with your right hand. Both somewhat using the ball on my right hand below my index finger as the power point in the right hand.

I know something screwing me up is the angle of my club head. I just don't want to go to a fitter without having any idea of what my swing I want to stick with should look like. But, I know I need the angle adjusted.

I appreciate you veteran golfers taking the time to read this stuff and respond, as I'm sure it seems pretty stupid and novice to the majority of the people here. It's the only place I have to ask a good golfer these types of questions.

Here's a couple of other questions that might fit in there:

Do you swing the same with your high and low number irons, as well as your driver?

Do you set up with the ball in the same place every time, or different places. Meaning the high # irons have the ball further towards your back foot and the lower the # on the iron, the ball moves forward. I know you are supposed to have it on your front heel with the driver, but one swing coach told me to have the ball right in the middle all of the time.

thanks again

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by Cossackred

I appreciate you veteran golfers taking the time to read this stuff and respond, as I'm sure it seems pretty stupid and novice to the majority of the people here.

It really doesn't. No matter how much you play, we're all confronted with the same basic issue: Why won't this damn ball go where I want it to?

In response to your other questions, my opinion is:

-- Yes, you should swing (broadly) the same with all your irons. As the shaft length gets longer, your swing plane will of necessity become more flat, but it's not something you need to be consciously thinking about. Don't despair about the long irons while you're learning the game -- they are hard to hit and it's entirely natural that you would curve them more than the shorter clubs. Jack Nicklaus, probably the best long iron player in history, famously said: "Any straight shot with a long club is a fluke."

-- No, you should not swing your driver the same as your irons. The driver is the only club in the bag that is best struck with an ascending blow.

-- I think (though opinions differ) that you should slightly alter your ball position for different clubs. Driver roughly off the left instep, long to mid irons about two balls back off the left heel, short irons and wedges somewhere around the middle of the stance. This helps with the first fundamental discussed above -- control of the low point of the swing.

[Paradox]

my answers to your second set of questions are the exact same as Stretchs.

oh and if you could get some video of your "thoughtless" swing, that'd be a great place to start getting advice from guys.

[saevel25]

there are some common threads,

1) most good golfers attack the ball from the inside, and there downswing hits a slot that ranges from the elbow to the shoulder.

2) Good golfers have nearly all there weight on there front foot at impact

3) Most good golfers, do not shift side to side, even though instructors say get your weight back, most people go to far. If you get a good shoulder rotation for your body, and keep your head still you be suprised how little weight transfer you need.

4) speaking of the head, most pro's have a still head in the downswing and through impact. If you look at Dustin Johnson, his head moves back in the backswing, but it remains still through out the downswing into impact. This maintains consistancy

Other than that, grips are variable, stances are variable, and posture varies. So does feelings and backswings.

[LankyLefty]

I don't think their is a right way to swing, but there are some things that most or all great golfers have in common and there are some things that almost all bad golfers have in common.

Their are also of course the freaks of nature (Bubba Watson or Furyk for example) who fly in the face of conventional wisdom but still strike the ball very well.

[saevel25]

Not really, they both do alot of what i mentioned right. The thing that seperates them is the backswing, showing that the backswing can set you up for a good swing, but its not a priority, but that takes a lot of feel and alot of practice to overcome. But i will say this, they both do the following well, they both are on the front side at impact, they both hit he ball first

[Cossackred]

Originally Posted by saevel25

Not really, they both do alot of what i mentioned right. The thing that seperates them is the backswing, showing that the backswing can set you up for a good swing, but its not a priority, but that takes a lot of feel and alot of practice to overcome. But i will say this, they both do the following well, they both are on the front side at impact, they both hit he ball first

would you mind explaining these two things in a bit more depth?

[saevel25]

both on the front side, meaning they don't hang there weight back, there weight is forward. They strike the ball before striking the ground. That and there clubface is oriented to there swing path how they want it for the given shot they want to hit, but you can't do that and hit it consistantly with out having your weight forward at impact and hit the ball first.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by Stretch

The driver is the only club in the bag that is best struck with an ascending blow.

And the putter!

[iacas]

Average of 100+ PGA Tour players? Their heads move an inch - one inch - total in the swing.

[The Recreational Golfer]

There are only a few ways to rightly strike the ball, but the ways to accomplish that are varied.

There's nothing wrong with the items in your list. You just have to put the right combination together.

Welcome to golf.

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by The_Pharaoh

And the putter!

Damn it!