My Swing (meta87)

[meta87]

Hi guys. New to the sandtrap. I had to register and take some videos after seeing all the great advice on here. Always enjoyed playing golf, but in the past I'd usually only make it out a few times a year. Decided a month ago I'd like to take it more seriously and have been practicing and playing frequently. Would like to play in some amateur tourneys at some point. Thanks in advance for any help!

I've been Playing Golf for: Off and on since I was really young. Mid 20s now and just started taking golf seriously this summer.

My current handicap index or average score is: I shoot in the mid 80s on a good day.

My typical ball flight is: Straight

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Sometimes have issues with a push fade.

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Videos:

[AggieGolfer13]

try making your swing more steep. I was having the same problem until someone on here helped me out.

Here is a link to my swing with a golf pro giving his thoughts on it. It might help you as well.
http://thesandtrap.com/t/60906/my-swing-aggiegolfer13

Best of luck

[meta87]

Thanks for the tip AggieGolfer. I see exactly what you mean and am going to work hard on getting the shoulders steeper. I went to my first lesson with a pga pro last week and he had me change to a more neutral grip. Previously I was swinging with a strong grip. I played a round yesterday with the more neutral grip and was push slicing my woods and longer irons badly. I realize I could probably minimize the push slice with my old stronger grip, but I'd rather fix the root issue which I think is the lack of shoulder steepness. Thanks again!

[AggieGolfer13]

No problem. Im still working on my push slice that has cursed me in the last few weeks.

[meta87]

You and me both. Hit a jumbo bucket at the range today. Started with my 9 iron and was hitting every club great till I got to my low irons. Then the dreaded push slice started coming out bad. I had a list jotted down with tips to stop it:

Stand further from the ball

Don't stand so straight up

Slide hips

Finish Tall

Really bring left shoulder back

But none of these were helping. Then I tried the drill where you put a tee in each armpit and try to swing without them falling out. It helped immediately. I think it's forcing my right elbow to stay where it's supposed to be and getting my left shoulder to rotate better.

[nevrino]

The swingpath is what causes the dreaded slice :p. I took the liberty to compare your clubface path to lee westwood (not that he has the most perfect swing, just took a random good player). However as you might see in your backswing your too flat and in the downswing your coming over the top, the clubpath is not aiming at the target line at impact it aims to the left.

There´s many ways to fix this and im not an expert but I would start by getting the backswing better.

[AggieGolfer13]

Originally Posted by nevrino

The swingpath is what causes the dreaded slice :p. I took the liberty to compare your clubface path to lee westwood (not that he has the most perfect swing, just took a random good player). However as you might see in your backswing your too flat and in the downswing your coming over the top, the clubpath is not aiming at the target line at impact it aims to the left.

There´s many ways to fix this and im not an expert but I would start by getting the backswing better.

What program do you use to do these type of comparisons? Im trying to find a good program for myself.

[meta87]

Thanks for takin the time Nevrino. I knew something looked wrong about my backswing, but wasn't sure what exactly. Going to nip this tendency in the bud.

[nevrino]

Originally Posted by AggieGolfer13

What program do you use to do these type of comparisons? Im trying to find a good program for myself.

I use V1 Home 2.0, it's not really a great program but it can do the basic stuff. From what i've seen analyzr seems to be the best program available but I have promised myself to not put so much money in golf this year, but will most likely get the student version next year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by meta87

Thanks for takin the time Nevrino. I knew something looked wrong about my backswing, but wasn't sure what exactly. Going to nip this tendency in the bud.

Just glad it helped you, I really like to analyze swings because you always learn something when you look at it a bit closer. However another tip would be to not try to get a perfect clubface path but to learn the bodymotions you need to get there.

[meta87]

Okay, been working hard, making progress. I joined Evolvr recently and got my first critique. Great tips so far! Mostly focused on my stance at address, and taking my hands inside on the backswing. Also getting my right forearm straighter at the top of my backswing.

I also had some breakthroughs on my own.  I've been struggling with an extremely bad push slice with my woods and longer irons. Couldn't figure out what was causing it and how to stop it. Finally figured out that I was rotating my left forearm and pronating my left wrist during my backswing. This was opening up the clubface and I was not getting the clubface square by impact. I now take a fairly strong grip, and make sure to not rotate my left forearm at all during backswing. Magic! The push slice is gone.

Anyways, I'm going to keep uploading videos as I go through the evolvr lessons to document my progress.

[Beachcomber]

meta87, dude... Your swing looks better already!  Nice work!  One of my favorite videos that I stumbled across doing a lot of research is the 'Left Arm Straight' video.  It should help you understand how the Right Forearm is responsible for the takeaway - and pulls the left arm straight.

Check it out - Jeff in the video does a great job of explaining what the arms do.  This may help you with that right arm fold which looks a little strange to me after looking at your swing videos...

[iacas]

I wouldn't worry much about bending your left arm except to point out that you should probably feel your swing is only a 3/4 backswing because... that'll help the hands/arms get down more quickly. When you overswing the right elbow gets trapped and overflexes and the left arm will bend a little. So the problem is more the overswinging, because then your hands and arms have even farther to come on the downswing.

[TN94z]

Great video Iacas!  I was just looking into my right arm and elbow movement over the weekend.  It doesn't seem to extend as much as it should.  This video helped me a lot.

Sorry for the hijack OP...

[meta87]

No problem at all. Wow great videos, thanks Beachcomber and Erik. Lots more to work on! I've never thought about the right arm being involved in backswing. Great stuff. Back to the net...

[meta87]

Thought I'd update my swing video. I just started my second month of evolvr. Getting a lot out of it and feeling good about the changes I've been making. My ball striking has been getting better even while changing things up. Right now I'm working on more of an inside takeaway with my hands, and not lifting my right foot through impact.

[Beachcomber]

I'm not kidding... I love this guy - out hitting balls in the dirt.  It reminds me of growing up in Ohio - hitting balls in the back of my house on my Grandfathers property where we had cattle.  One summer he had a bunch of gravel brought in to help better line a stream that ran through an area of the property... And when the gravel was delivered - it was dumped by a large truck and formed a large round surface area like a green.  I'd go out there with SW's from ankle deep rough and just flop balls onto the gravel - which I pictured as a green.

Good times!  And great to see meta87 going out and hitting balls like this.  Shows dedication and determination which I admire.  Keep up the good work bud! The swing is looking pretty good.  You blistered that iron from the DTL view.

[meta87]

Haha thanks man. Like the story about the gravel green :D Yeah my hitting area is kinda turning into a dust bowl and getting taken over by lumber. Makes hitting off a nice grassy fairway seem so easy though!

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by meta87

Haha thanks man. Like the story about the gravel green :D Yeah my hitting area is kinda turning into a dust bowl and getting taken over by lumber. Makes hitting off a nice grassy fairway seem so easy though!

Absolutely!  Going out and banging balls off of the dirt like that will make you a better player IMO.  There isn't many lies that will get me flustered... And I credit that to playing all those shots off the cow pasture as a kid.

How's the Evolvr lessons going?  Personally, I need to submit a new video for September.