My Swing (Beachcomber)

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by mchepp

Seems to me that the shoulders and hips stall and then he is forced to close the face with his hands and he will hit pull hooks. To me, it looks really similar to my issues. He gets all bunched up, goat humps, and then flips to hit it. Rt shoulder is WAY to far back at A7-A8.

I for one will be interested to hear what Dana says. You and I swing really really similarly. A side by side would be pretty spooky.

There are a few things I notice...

1.) My head moves into the ball on the back swing - when I focus on getting extension in the backswing - getting the left shoulder vertically under my chin - I seem to lean into the ball.  Pretty minor - but not exactly a steady head.

2.) As I go from A5 to A7 - my left hip is sliding and turning which pulls my right hip, leg and pelvis toward the golf ball.  This is the critical breakdown in my swing from my perspective... It causes the face to shut and sometimes hit the pull or hook or over draw.

When my timing is good - I can hit the ball very well.  When my timing is off - or I'm under pressure in a tournament... My swing gets quick and that left hip slide/turn gets too much.  As Grant told me this past spring... I need to calm that down a little bit.  So I'm hoping Dana can help me focus on that and show me how to get the rates of the slide/turn synched up for better ball striking.  This should also help me keep the sweet spot on path longer through the impact area.

Basically I just need to hit shots from A5 to A8 over and over and over again with the eyes and ears of a quality instructor so that I can nail this piece.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

When you say face change, what exactly does that entail?  Is it something simple with the grip and/or bowing/cupping of the wrists?

Just set the clubface a bit more open at setup.

Originally Posted by mchepp

Seems to me that the shoulders and hips stall and then he is forced to close the face with his hands and he will hit pull hooks. To me, it looks really similar to my issues. He gets all bunched up, goat humps, and then flips to hit it. Rt shoulder is WAY to far back at A7-A8.

Yeah, he's got other things going on, but I'm just saying... to play golf in the meantime, with that pattern, he'd better have the face pointed more to the right so he doesn't hit straight-draws to pull-draws. :)

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

Key #5.  Just simply open the face a degree at address I believe is what Eric is stating.  My clubface is closed at impact - with a path which is only a few degrees right of the target - will cause a hook.  So getting my clubface more square should help reduce the occasional over draw / hook.

Currently, I believe my biggest issue is synching my hips with my arms.  My hips are turning and sliding... Instead of sliding... then turning (post impact).  Hope I can nail this with Dana's instruction?

I finished watching the 5SK DVD's.  I liked them... Looking forward to incorporating some of the drills into my practice routine.

I don't know who Eric is, but yes to the first part. :)

The hips turn and slide both from the top of the backswing. Don't worry about the bold/italic part.

Slide your butt forward along the wall. Or better yet, slide your knee forward along something. Put a range bucket down and keep your knee moving forward and inside the bucket:

I swear you said something above about how weird the proper setup felt with regards to your weight distribution, and yet now you're right back there with your weight back over your heels again. :)

[Beachcomber]

Sorry about the use/substitution of the 'C' in place of the 'K'!!

Thanks for the comments on the swing.  I'll try the range bucket drill tonight and see if that can help me slide my butt down the wall (forward toward the target) and not in toward the ball (hump).

Also, I'll recheck my weight distribution at address, and ensure I'm getting more on my toes...

Note to those that are reading this thread... Getting more on my toes at address is my personal feel - not something others should do just because you're reading this thread... This is something that is good for me to check given the issue I have with the forward head movement (toward the ball) in the back swing.

[delav]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

Thanks for the comments on the swing.  I'll try the range bucket drill tonight and see if that can help me slide my butt down the wall (forward toward the target) and not in toward the ball (hump).

I still struggle with this as well.  I've found that contracting my abdominal muscles slightly at address and increasingly into impact helps me keep my butt on the wall and spine angle where it should be.  It also has helped my posture during the swing.

Give it a shot alongside the range bucket drill... it may help.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

There are a few things I notice...

1.) My head moves into the ball on the back swing - when I focus on getting extension in the backswing - getting the left shoulder vertically under my chin - I seem to lean into the ball.  Pretty minor - but not exactly a steady head.

Head moves down because the neck tilts are off, it's an adjustment your making during the swing because the vision is of.  That could be leading to the weight being in the heels or the weight in the heels leading to head being too up.  Like Erik said, head goes down, gotta give yourself some room to not hit it and you raise up.  Get the setup stuff right and you see some positive changes.

[Beachcomber]

Grrrrr.......  Still can't figure out why my ass can't stay on the wall - and slide toward the target to prevent early extension without coming off the wall.  Following is a video I did with a 58* Wedge - full swing but about 80% - with the goal of identifying the root cause of my issue.

Welp... I dunno .   Is it a lack of abdominal strength?  Lack of strength in the glutes?  A combination of both?  I have no f'n idea... But obviously I suck.

[mvmac]

Gotta be careful with the whole tush on the wall.  You can keep the butt on the wall by keeping the hips in flexion and not releasing the tailbone.  The biggest piece to take away from these pics isn't the tush line but the how the arms are extending and their glutes are more "engaged" than yours into the followthrough.  Gotta release all that lumbar (lower spine) flexion (speaking from experience )

Grant and Daniel

This to me is going to be more of the feel.  Elbows together, returning to forward bend on downswing and then thrust.  There will probably be some clean up on the back swing with the arms.  Pic is obviously exaggerated.  If the elbows stay relatively close together, you have to regain flexion.  If they flex and separate, you'll tend to lose your inclination.

[Beachcomber]

Mike, to recap:

1.) Right side extends (loses flexion) in the backswing.... I feel like I'm hitting this piece better than in the past.  Do you think I'm over flexing my right bicep?

2.) Then you start to regain flexion (A5 to A7) - Secondary axis tilt - as you go from A5 to A7 - this is where the hips will slide forward toward the target - but square back up like at address.... Missing this piece.

3.) Left side extends in the follow through.... My left arm folds/over flexes - I feel this and know its a breakdown

So going back to my arms and elbow spacing, keep them tight.  Are you talking about maintaining the wedge through impact to help with the regaining flexion piece?  Or is the arm/elbow spacing a priority over the early extension piece?

I'd like to finish high with my arms tight like the O'Hair example below - minus the rolling of the wrist.

To generate power, I let my right hand/arm - I feel like it is a karate counter punch.... Like I'm driving that right forearm and fist into the ball.

[mchepp]

I think this is not an easy problem to fix. I have not found something that fixes it. If you look at my swing it is still there. This video gives one drill that helps. Not the tush on the wall, but the second one. It is in line with that Mike is saying with that still shot of the guy in the blue shirt.

There are two things IMHO, one is trying to get pitch elbow which will help you sequence better, and the right shoulder moving through the ball sooner. Both of these are exhibited in the still Mike showed.

Lastly, I am guessing your are going for a draw pattern, Joe gives some really good tips in these 2 videos. One is about sliding the hips, the other he does talk about extension.

[Beachcomber]

mchepp, thank you so much for sharing these videos!  Now I see some of the swing pattern pieces I'm missing.  Love, love, love watching both of the videos!!

As Mr. Joseph Mayo would say... There is absolutely no Jackassery in those instructional videos.

Seriously though, they definitely bring some clarity to the pieces I'm missing.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

Mike, to recap:

1.) Right side extends (loses flexion) in the backswing.... I feel like I'm hitting this piece better than in the past.  Do you think I'm over flexing my right bicep?

2.) Then you start to regain flexion (A5 to A7) - Secondary axis tilt - as you go from A5 to A7 - this is where the hips will slide forward toward the target - but square back up like at address.... Missing this piece.

3.) Left side extends in the follow through.... My left arm folds/over flexes - I feel this and know its a breakdown

Sounds good.  Yes I would say that right arm is flexing too much.  Add some more extensor/pressure point #1 from A2-4.  IMO that's the priority so the right arm has more room on the downswing.  This will be more clear Friday.

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

So going back to my arms and elbow spacing, keep them tight.  Are you talking about maintaining the wedge through impact to help with the regaining flexion piece?  Or is the arm/elbow spacing a priority over the early extension piece?

I'd like to finish high with my arms tight like the O'Hair example below - minus the rolling of the wrist.

Yes about the spacing, no about the wedge, in terms of the intent.  You might have some more wedge/PA#2 but that would just be an effect of the elbow spacing.  O'Hair's wrists are actually fine in the pic, he is hitting a driver and swinging 115 or whatever his speed is.  And it's well past impact.

[Beachcomber]

Mike, this makes sense to me know after today... When you wrote this on Wednesday, I was lost.  Now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The problem... It's a long tunnel to travel before I get to the light!!

Originally Posted by mvmac

This to me is going to be more of the feel.  Elbows together, returning to forward bend on downswing and then thrust.  There will probably be some clean up on the back swing with the arms.  Pic is obviously exaggerated.  If the elbows stay relatively close together, you have to regain flexion.  If they flex and separate, you'll tend to lose your inclination.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

Mike, this makes sense to me know after today... When you wrote this on Wednesday, I was lost.  Now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The problem... It's a long tunnel to travel before I get to the light!!

Just keep up the good work and it will get better.  Important to remember that it doesn't have to be "perfect" in order to play good golf.  Good to have it all on video ( just don't make it public if you put it on youtube ).  Will send you the A6 pics tomorrow, unless you want me to just post the check list pics on this thread.

[Beachcomber]

Thanks for all your help Mike.  I really appreciate it.  The video and stills will definitely help me progress over the next quarter or two.  I'll post updates periodically here.

[Pakoh]

Beach- saw your post in the "what did you shoot today" thread.

where did you take your lesson, and what are you working on?  just curious... thanks*

[Beachcomber]

I had a lesson with Dana Dahlquist in Long Beach. We mapped out several items for me to mod in order to get my face at impact online and higher percentage of quality strikes - hitting longer and higher shot patterns. 1.) face is closed at A4 - so dorsi flexion of the left wrist to square club 2.) focused heavily in the proper method to regain flexion at A6 - focusing on key alignments to hit the proper A6 piece Basically, my swing pattern is being overhauled on the downswing. Major changes.

[bplewis24]

Dude.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

I had a lesson with Dana Dahlquist in Long Beach.

We mapped out several items for me to mod in order to get my face at impact online and higher percentage of quality strikes - hitting longer and higher shot patterns.

1.) face is closed at A4 - so dorsi flexion of the left wrist to square club

2.) focused heavily in the proper method to regain flexion at A6 - focusing on key alignments to hit the proper A6 piece

Basically, my swing pattern is being overhauled on the downswing. Major changes.

Yeah just moving on to the next stage.  Your goal is to be scratch and there are a few things that need to be cleaned up for that to happen.  To hit more GIR on a regular basis.  You've put in a lot of great work on the backswing, now the priority is the downswing.