Is my problem coming from keeping the clubface shut during takeaway?

[trickymicky69]

I have recently come back from a bad shoulder injury and have had 6 months out of the game.

I have played twice in that time and from being around a 14hcp before (on tough hard links type courses) with excellent ball striking (bad driving and putting but great with compression and wedges etc) I would now struggle to break 100

I am hitting all sorts of problems that are making me look like I have never played golf before - tops, big slices, low hooks, high ball flight etc etc.

I am really struggling to start my backswing as I have lost my "feel" for my swing triggers and I am all over the place (hanging on my right side I just cant seem to get over to my left side)

I am taking the club back in a straight-ish line and the clubface is staying square to this straight line and the club is not rotating open as my brain is telling me this will make my slice worse. This surely cant be right can it? I cant remember the correct swing path!

Any tips please I am pulling my hair out

[iacas]

The clubhead and your hands should move back, up, and IN. If you're taking the club back "straight" then that's the first problem I might look to address. Check out the "Deep Hands" thread.

Note that "toe up" when the shaft is horizontal on the takeaway is open to the plane, so it should still be slightly toe-down.

[trickymicky69]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, I will look at the "deep hands" thread now.

May I ask a question please?

As an instructor, if someone came to you after playing for three years, but wanted to completely start from scratch would that sound odd? I.e lets completely start again, train me like I have never played before, a complete blank piece of paper.

I am a dedicated trainer and would work really hard to improve.

I am bored of spending money on golf equipment when the penny has just dropped in my head, and I am thinking I should have spent it on lessons?

[Zeph]

As an instructor, if someone came to you after playing for three years, but wanted to completely start from scratch would that sound odd? I.e lets completely start again, train me like I have never played before, a complete blank piece of paper. I am a dedicated trainer and would work really hard to improve.

Not an instructor, but I'll weigh in either way. The problem with that idea is that you can't erase your three years of swinging. The body has developed a way to swing the club and you've used it for three years. It's like learning to ride a bike. Once you get it, you never forget how it's done. By doing some thousand repetitions of your swing, it has become your swing . So no, you can't start from scratch, but doing something is usually better than doing nothing. [quote name="trickymicky69" url="/t/57015/is-my-problem-coming-from-keeping-the-clubface-shut-during-takeaway#post_698879"]I am bored of spending money on golf equipment when the penny has just dropped in my head, and I am thinking I should have spent it on lessons?[/quote] I have rarely experienced getting better by changing equipment. Some training aids have helped me, but I only use them to tackle a specific issue. Like the Swing Extender to avoid overswinging. Is lessons a better way to spend your money if you want to improve? No doubt about it. If you are dedicated and want to do a bit on your own, a camera that can record in high speed is a good investment. The only problem I see when it comes to lessons is you don't know what you're going to get. You could find a very good instructor that give you the right things to work on. Or you could get a poor instructor that just tell you to swing more to the right. I believe the majority of instructors out there fall into the latter category. If I'm wrong, nothing would please me more, but that's what I think. If you do find a good instructor (online ones exist too), the real work is done outside the lesson. On the lesson you talk about your swing and the instructor gives you something to work on. After the lesson, your results are depending on how hard you work to make the changes happen and whether you do it properly. Practicing wrong may be worse than not practicing at all. If you're serious about improving your game, I suggest videotaping your swing and posting it in the My Swing section on this forum. Members of the forum can give you a few pointers on where you probably want to focus your attention first. From there you can go at it yourself, or find a local instructor you feel comfortable with.

[newtogolf]

Also not an instructor but going through what you're considering.  Zeph hit it right on the head, it's been a rough few months.  I believe I've finally found a good instructor who can explain and help me develop a decent golf swing.  He's providing me with the right information, drills and feedback to change my swing, but all the real work is done after the lesson; first in front of a mirror then the range and video review.  Two years of very bad swing habits have been tough to break, but last Friday I had a major breakthrough on what I should feel during the lesson and was able to replicate it in front of the mirror.  This weekend  I had two of the best range sessions I've ever had, but the true test is repeating that again tomorrow and eventually on the course under pressure.

Look at how Tiger is struggling to keep his old swing from creeping into his new one and he has pretty much unlimited time and resources to practice.  If you're a15 handicap you might want to wait until the winter to take on a major overhaul of your swing so you don't ruin your summer.

[trickymicky69]

my summer is already ruined ;(

I am hitting the worst shots of my life.

Tomorrow i will try the deep hands drills and get back with a video this week

[iacas]

Originally Posted by trickymicky69

As an instructor, if someone came to you after playing for three years, but wanted to completely start from scratch would that sound odd? I.e lets completely start again, train me like I have never played before, a complete blank piece of paper.

To be honest, I'm not sure I'd take a student like that on.

Someone might be lousy at golf but it's still easier to work with what they have than to build anew. Even if you're 20% of a good golfer that's more than 0%.

Yes, habits are tough to break, but you're gonna have the habits regardless. You can't literally "erase" things. The closest you could get would be to switch to being a lefty if you're a righty, but even then, it's not a complete erasure. I think erasure is a word. :-)

[newtogolf]

It used to be an alternative (New Wave) band.

I agree about the pain of making a major swing change, it's tough to try and break bad habits like excessive head movement and body shifting on backswing and downswing.  In my case I guess it's not 100% swing change, maybe 80% as you suggest.  All I know is I'm tired of looking at myself in a mirror.

Originally Posted by iacas

To be honest, I'm not sure I'd take a student like that on.

Someone might be lousy at golf but it's still easier to work with what they have than to build anew. Even if you're 20% of a good golfer that's more than 0%.

Yes, habits are tough to break, but you're gonna have the habits regardless. You can't literally "erase" things. The closest you could get would be to switch to being a lefty if you're a righty, but even then, it's not a complete erasure. I think erasure is a word. :-)