My swing (Carldawgh)

[Carldawgh]

I've been Playing Golf for: I played as a kid like one time per week but quit because I had absolutely no interest in the game whatsoever. I only played because my dad wanted me to. So I took about a 4 year break. However, last spring (2011) I somehow got interested and went from playing nothing to ALOT. (Im 15 years old by the way). So now ive been playing or practicing almost every day for a 1,5 season time period. One thing to note here is that I had a shoulder injury in mid 2011 due to overpracticing/swinging the wrong way. Hitting way to many balls on the range. The injury shortened my season by about 1.5 months.

My current handicap index or average score is:  Ive got a handicap that is currently on 10. However i havnt had a full 18 hole round for a long time. I usually play 9 holes in the evening and then ill score around +1 to +3 so my score on a full 18 holer would probably be between a 72 and 78, (all depending on my iron ballstriking that is currently my big issue though).

My typical ball flight is: Well, since my swing is in a changing process it could be a draw or a fade or a straight shot. It all depends in which phase im in. It varies from day to day.

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Im currently struggling to hit the ball in the center of the clubface. Im consistently hitting it closely to the toe or a straight off toe shot. Sometimes it feels as if the club twirls around in my hand as im failing to hold on to it. My iron play was once my biggest strength (I was hitting 4 irons off the tee because I was very bad with the driver and just flushing them) and now it just feels like a mess. The result of the toe shots are often straight but very thin and very unpowerfull shots. Im loosing alot of my natural height and length and its driving me crazy! My clubs "VR PRO COMBO" are not the type of clubs where this type of ball striking is acceptable either. The result is simply so ugly and has a very mental effect on the rest of my game as I KNOW that I am capable of hitting  so much better shots than this! I do not believe that my ball position is the problem, Ive tried experimenting but ive ended up with the same weak shots as before. Now I have a youtube channel containing swings from my early days up to now. Be sure to check those out aswell but for now ill just link two of my most recent ones for you guys to check out. I was striking the ball pretty well in the videos (one of those "good days") but I hope someone might figure out something, alright thanks alot, really appreciate some feedback!

Cant seem to find out how to embed the videos. When i use the toolbar is doesnt react, ill try to work it out, meanwhile my youtube channel is "Carldawgh".

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Videos:

[Carldawgh]

[Beachcomber]

Nice swing bud.  My recommendation is widen your stance a little.  The 2nd video with the 8-iron, your stance looks so narrow - it would be hard to keep / maintain balance.  I'd also flair the front and rear foot more to give you a nice stable base to turn/pivot on.

I'd also clean up the pivot a little - but you have a solid swing kid.  Nice work.  I like your finish a lot.

[nevrino]

Awesome I like it, really fluid swing with lots of power for your size.

[Carldawgh]

I'll definately try that out but I can't understand how my ballstriking varies so much from day to day. It's hard to deal with!

[Carldawgh]

Also, what do you mean by "cleaning up that pivot"?

[GaryH]

You have a lot of talent, kid, and there is much to admire in your swing. The one thing i'd say is that i think you whip the club inside you a bit in the takeaway by rolling/twisting the wrists / rotating the left forearm. Compare the plane of your shaft during the first third or half of your backswing with that of most tour pros from the down the line view. You'll see your shaft gets more inside and flatter than theirs does.  Just my view, check it for yourself and make your own mind up.  you're a terrific player.

[Carldawgh]

Thanks alot mate, I'm aware of this but havn't quite fixed it, It's obvious to me that I havn't tried enough though. I'll definately take this with me to the next range session.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by Carldawgh

Also, what do you mean by "cleaning up that pivot"?

Watch James' pivot from the belt down.  Just his hips, legs and feet.  Then compare his pivot to yours.  You'll see the difference.  I'd start by working on loading your left leg properly.

[Beachcomber]

Here is another pivot centric video.  This one is close up - and you can see the loading of the left leg - with the right leg straightening.  Since you're a left handed golfer... You're obviously going to be doing the opposite of the video.

[Carldawgh]

thanks alot.

[Carldawgh]

Here's a little update on my swing