My Swing (westbakke)

[westbakke]

Hello everybody. I went out to the range earlier today, and every single iron shot was a shank. I've never had this problem before and I couldn't fix it at all. The few shots that weren't shanked were all pulls. It's really frustrating and I have a school tournament tomorrow, so I'm pretty screwed if I don't figure out a way to fix these shots. Here's my swing, hope the quality's okay:

Since I'm obviously taking it inside on the takeaway, are there any drills or something I can do to make it square? Any other tips?

[mvmac]

Shanking due to the arms being so upright. [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/182420/width/640/height/401][IMG]http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/182420/width/640/height/401[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/182421/width/640/height/389][IMG]http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/182421/width/640/height/389[/IMG][/URL]

[westbakke]

Sweet, thanks for the reply. Pictures really helped!

[BIGTRUFFLE]

To me it looks like you may be standing a touch too close to the ball. Try standing 2-4 inches away from the ball and position it 2 inches to the left so that it is opposite your left ear. A better address will increase your chances of hitting a better shot.

[westbakke]

For the past week I've been hitting hooks and pulls. My irons are manageable but my drives are awful and don't even get up in the air. My instructor says I'm taking the club way too far inside on the downswing. What should I try to do to make my downswing more outside?

The link to the video: http://golfshot.com/swings/57-172611-172683 . Pause the video and use the fast forward button to go frame by frame

[iacas]

One thread, please. And you're far more likely to get help if you participate in this site outside of sponging advice from people (to be blunt about it). People are more likely to help "friends" than "strangers."

[poser]

Originally Posted by iacas

One thread, please. And you're far more likely to get help if you participate in this site outside of sponging advice from people (to be blunt about it). People are more likely to help "friends" than "strangers."

what is the point of the my swing thread than?  You would get more participation if you were not such a jerk sometimes.  (to be blunt about it). I thought the point of this forum was for swing advice and help.  I see very little feedback in most of these threads anyways.  I know most here are instructors and don't want to give away free advice since they can charge for it but, if you don't want this type of forum delete it.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by poser

what is the point of the my swing thread than?  You would get more participation if you were not such a jerk sometimes.  (to be blunt about it). I thought the point of this forum was for swing advice and help.  I see very little feedback in most of these threads anyways.  I know most here are instructors and don't want to give away free advice since they can charge for it but, if you don't want this type of forum delete it.

Here's what we see, the OP made his first post in early Nov and just made his 3rd post 50 minutes ago asking for advice.  All of them in his "my swing" thread.  He was very appreciative of the info and seemed to like it.  The point of me responding to him originally, spending time to upload his swing, analyze it, do a little write up and post it, is to get him to stay on the site and post more.  Create some good will and have him check out other threads.  Become an active member.  I'm more than happy to offer my advice to an active member but when you see a guy's first post is asking about his swing, you know it's a gamble.

The OP's lack of participation has NOTHING to do with Erik.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by poser

what is the point of the my swing thread than?  You would get more participation if you were not such a jerk sometimes.  (to be blunt about it). I thought the point of this forum was for swing advice and help.  I see very little feedback in most of these threads anyways.  I know most here are instructors and don't want to give away free advice since they can charge for it but, if you don't want this type of forum delete it.

I feel like your post comes a bit out of left field here.

First, in addition to what Mike said, there are some rules for the "My Swing" threads. The OP posted a thread in November, then today created a second thread (the rules say one per member), which is why I said "one thread, please." I had to take the time to merge the threads. It's easy, but it's time wasted unnecessarily.

Second, members clearly appreciate these threads, and they're actually quite popular. We just recently created a separate "Member Swings" forum specifically for these "My Swing" threads, so clearly we're doing what we can to support these threads, as they're unique to this site and valuable even if someone wants to document their own swing with no comments from others (sean_miller's thread comes to mind - he's just documenting it but doesn't want advice as he's working with a local instructor).

I think it's at least a little unfair to suggest that Mike and I don't give out a ton of information, free, each week, and that we're only looking to charge people. This is particularly true when Mike responded in this very thread with free information to a guy who had made, at that time, one post . And finally, if you think participation is low in these threads, perhaps you can help by posting more often in them.

My advice to the OP was that people are far more likely to help someone with their own swing when they feel that they've gotten to know them a little bit, and the way that works on a forum is for them to post in other parts of the forum. Discuss their rounds. Their equipment. Their lesson. The PGA Tour event going on. Even posting about other sports, favorite beers, etc.

You're free to think what you want, and frankly, I don't really care if you think I'm a jerk or not. Though I could undoubtedly do better, as we all could, I'm content with my behavior, both in this thread and in general, as well as content with the amount of information I give out free, the few Rules this site has, and more.

Now, then, we'll get back on topic, please. If you have more to say, please PM myself and/or Mike.

Originally Posted by iacas

P.S. As a general note, people are more willing to give advice to people they know, so please, try to participate in other sections of the site. Get to know people and let them get to know you a little bit. You'll get more feedback and advice in your "My Swing" thread and make some online buddies in the process.

[Taylor Johnson]

mvmac, in the drill that you mentioned in your original response (tees in each arm pit): Is it recommended to use this drill/feel with a driver as well?

Thanks,

Taylor

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Taylor Johnson

mvmac, in the drill that you mentioned in your original response (tees in each arm pit): Is it recommended to use this drill/feel with a driver as well?

Thanks,

Taylor

Yes you can definitely hit a driver with the tees, helps make sure there isn't any independent lifting of the arms in the backswing and that the arms are working with the pivot throughout the swing