power loss in downswing?

[jkruszew]

So, I hit my clubs about the following distances (average, carry)

Driver - 225

3 wood - 210

Hybrid - 200

3- 185

4- 175

5- 165

6- 155

7 - 145

8 - 135

9 - 125

PW - 115

I know that doesn't suck, but the problem is that I'm 31, 6'0", and have crazy flexibility.  I should be hitting the ball longer than my girlfriend's 62 year old father.

I'm pretty sure the problem is in my downswing, because I did golftec for four months having my hip and shoulder angles measured and the top of my backswing was always very good.  A weak turn for me was 90 degrees of shoulder turn against 45 degrees of hip turn, standard was about 90/40, and I got as much as 58 degrees of separation between my shoulders and hips on some swings.  And I know I get my weight loaded on my right instep like everybody recommends.

So I have power stored up in my torso, weight loaded about 70% on my right instep, but when I swing through I always feel like I'm hitting the ball weakly with my arms.  I have (like six or seven year ago) hit a longer ball and when I did I felt this "snap", but no matter what I try I can't get that snap back.

I've tried everything.  Start the downswing by sliding my hips, or turning my left hip out, or my right hip towards the target, or firing through with my shoulders, or focusing on cocking and setting my wrists, doesn't matter, same shot.  I suppose it's possible that I'm hanging back, but I've tried doing baseball swing drills where I lift my left foot off the ground and shift prior to iniating the downswing and it doesn't seem to help.

Any thoughts on what I might be doing that's leaking my power would be great.  I pull the ball left a lot, sometimes with a hook, will occasionally hit a snap hook or big slice with my driver, but I never lose my irons to the right.

[Ajlepisto]

Can you post a video?

It could be anything. Maybe you are casting? I was losing power recently and realized I am scooping the ball at impact. I've worked hard to get rid of it and my distance is coming back slowly. Do you swing very upright? I am 6'2" but am trying to get a bit flatter because it seems to help me get into a better impact position. If you're too upright you get too steep coming down and you release your lag too early.

[cooke119]

Hmmm, I'm 61 and don't have better numbers then you, but then I have had two back surgeries. Your numbers could be better, see a pro for lessons.

[LuciusWooding]

You can be the most flexible person in the world but you won't hit it anywhere without using that advantage. If you're swinging with your arms  and not your body, your body turn isn't being utilized. I learned that when I was starting out; getting 65/120 degrees of turn isn't meaningful. The timing is everything, as is good impact position.

If your weight is that far back and you're hooking it, I suggest trying to make a better weight shift. Sounds like your body is staying back; good players generally have their hips ahead of their left foot by impact. You'll have less need to compensate and throw your arms across the plane, causing pulls and hooks. With an in to out swing plane you'll be more likely to hit draws and you'll be in better positions biomechanically. Then you can stay "connected", use the body turn to get some momentum and be able to get a running start, if you will, with your hands. Right now you have to use your arms and hands to change direction to some extent, which means the rest of your body's energy isn't being used fully.

[Sacman]

Be careful with having your hips go in front of your left foot at impact. You may create lateral slide instead of rotation like a rory mclroy does.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by Sacman

Be careful with having your hips go in front of your left foot at impact. You may create lateral slide instead of rotation like a rory mclroy does.

Funny you should mention him. He happens to be one of the better examples of that:

On that picture, the blue line representing his left hip shows it's about level with the outside of his foot, and the camera is angled a bit. But this is his driver, with him leaning away from the target to sweep it. Let's see an iron:

Halfway down, this is the most pronounced position since his hips are not fully rotated, but you can see his weight on the left side. This camera is dead face on.

At impact, you can clearly see his hip still past his foot after he continues to rotate.

Dustin Johnson, in a mostly square camera angle, showing his hip about 2 inches off his left foot at the moment of impact. He doesn't make the move as pronounced as rory (and I) do, but he makes a full weight shift and hits his irons far, so it's not unique to Rory. He also wears baggier pants, but you can see his weight is moving over his left side and is 95% there at the follow through once his momentum dies down.

That right leg firing into impact is what does this. With some of the longer players, you see their hips even rise an inch or two into impact as they explode from a slight squatting position for more power. Turning tightly is important but a bit of a lateral shift comes with this move (don't try to do it forwards towards the ball, just a bit towards the target). Find me a long hitting iron player who stays back and isn't over their lead leg at impact. I don't expect anyone can do that because it causes your AoA to be upwards which is a death move with irons. With driver you can do it a little bit but usually players will keep their same weight shift and move the ball up if they hit up with the driver.

I'm not suggesting you have your entire weight past your front foot, but it should almost all be over the foot in a balanced fashion around impact and certainly the follow through. This means some of your lead hip may go past where you plant your lead foot, perhaps 2 inches or so. Rory in the iron picture at impact is probably centered over the inside of his left foot and he continues to gather himself over that foot in the follow through. You could pick up his right foot in his follow through and he wouldn't fall over, his toe is just resting on the ground.

[onesome]

More than likely your casting, go get a lesson.