My Swing (dkling8)

[dkling8]

I've been Playing Golf for: About 3 years. I dinked it around when I was in high school, started playing more regularly 3 years ago, and started practicing on a regular basis about a year ago.

My current handicap index or average score is: 16.8

My typical ball flight is: Slight draw with irons, fade with driver.

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Mostly a straight push or push fade. Also, my driver ball flight is usually pretty low, which I'm hoping to fix.

There are some things I'm somewhat satisfied with in my swing right now (tempo, balance, impact position), but there are a lot of things I'm hoping to improve. Early extension/losing my spine angle is something I struggle with. Another is taking the clubhead too inside on the takeaway, then a slight over the top in transition and having to try to fight off getting too steep. I feel like I can drop my handicap fast with improved driving, more consistent short game, and limiting blow-up holes. If you'd like, you can also check out my stats from the past year. I'd love some insights on what areas of my game need most improving.

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Videos:

[colin007]

you have loads of potential.  you have a very steady head from the face on view, and great impact position with a flat left wrist.

from the DTL view, your hands dont get much depth, and the club gets inside by P2.  get the hands farther inside and the clubhead inline with the hands or even a touch outside at P2.

[onephenom]

Your right arm gets too far behind your body when you start the downswing. You might be pushing your hips and shoulders too hard/fast on the downswing

[Jhwarren]

I would suggest that you watch this video.

[dkling8]

Originally Posted by colin007

from the DTL view, your hands dont get much depth, and the club gets inside by P2.  get the hands farther inside and the clubhead inline with the hands or even a touch outside at P2.

I'm sure that you're getting at the same thing Jh was with going for more of a "Fowler" feeling on the takeaway. So by more depth, you mean the hands just need to stay to the inside more? Or does the club have to stay outside of the hands to have depth? I feel like in this video, Tiger takes his hands to the inside, but his move is more subtle than Fowler's motion. Maybe that's just because Rickie just keeps the clubhead so far outside of his hands, whereas Tiger lets the clubhead ascend. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by Jhwarren

I would suggest that you watch this video.

Thanks Jh. Looking back at my DTL swing, my left hand definitely works outward as soon as I start the takeaway. This gets the clubhead under plane right off the bat. In the video you posted, the guy's takeaway looks almost identical to mine.

[Jhwarren]

Yes. Now keep in mind that Fowler is being used as an extreme example. His takeaway is not the end goal for you. He is being used to highlight the feeling you most likely will have for a little while as you work on this.

Like it goes into in that video, we play golf on an arc. You are a good enough athlete to know that if something goes outside that arc (your hands), you have to counter it with something going inside that arc (your clubhead). Work on bringing your hands moving more inward on the takeaway and not rotating your wrists as much. Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

[dkling8]

Ok guys here's my first update. My target is toward the red flag, so my camera is a little bit low and pointing toward right field FYI. This one started toward the target and drew a few yards left. Overall, I was really happy with this shot.

My takeaway is improving a little, but my hands still don't get deep enough. I don't yank the clubhead inside as much, but my hands still float outward instead of inward. The club at P2 looks to be a bit better though.

At the top, I still have my hands too high and the club is still laid off. I'm pretty surprised that this was a draw, because on camera it looks like it would have faded. Maybe the camera angle just makes it look a little more over-the-top than it actually was.

Any new thoughts?

[colin007]

yeah, so it looks like youre playing a bit of a pull.  maybe even a pull hook, if its drawing.  you see how your feet are pointing to the right of the flag?  they really should be pointing left of it, and youre right about the OTT move.

[dkling8]

So I have another question: In my latest video, does it look I'm standing too close to the ball at address?

I played a practice round today and was hitting everything incredibly fat, especially wedges. It was really frustrating after I thought I was making a lot of progress. After 9 holes I backed off the ball a little bit and was having slightly better results. I think that's also why it looks like I'm hitting pulls in my latest video. There's not much room for the club to work from the inside, and I have to come in really steep to even hit it.

By the way, I'm 6'3'' with really long legs (if you couldn't already tell...), so any other posture tips for tall golfers would be helpful too.

[colin007]

Originally Posted by dkling8

So I have another question: In my latest video, does it look I'm standing too close to the ball at address?

I played a practice round today and was hitting everything incredibly fat, especially wedges. It was really frustrating after I thought I was making a lot of progress. After 9 holes I backed off the ball a little bit and was having slightly better results. I think that's also why it looks like I'm hitting pulls in my latest video. There's not much room for the club to work from the inside, and I have to come in really steep to even hit it.

By the way, I'm 6'3'' with really long legs (if you couldn't already tell...), so any other posture tips for tall golfers would be helpful too.

too close to the ball?  just a smidgen.  if you look at how your arms hang at address, they are not straight up and down, perpendicular to the ground, they are slightly tilted towards your body, so you could stand maybe an inch or two farther away.

as for the pulls, you are pulling it in that video.  your feet are lined up closed to the target, so an OTT swing with a clubface that points at the target will be a straight pull (at the target, but pulled in relation to your feet)

looking at your leg action, it looks like you dont drive the hips towards the target enough (pushing them, not just turning).  have you seen this thread?  great info - http://thesandtrap.com/t/29616/the-biggest-secret-slide-your-hips

im 6'4", i have similar posture issues.  are your clubs fitted for you?

[dkling8]

Ok so I've been working on two things.

1) Better P2 position. I've been trying to feel the club stay slightly outside of my hands on the takeaway. I was able to do it at first, but that would cause me to come more over-the-top and swing left (as in the previous video). It's working better now as long as it's coupled with my second thing...

2) Controlling my right elbow. In the last video, my right elbow is kind of flying out on the backswing, and my club gets realllly steep in transition. I've been trying to make room for my right elbow to fall in transition, keeping the club flatter longer.

Overall, I feel my swing is still too long (my hands get too high) and I'm pretty laid off. But I'm feeling the flying wedge fall down in front of me a bit more, hopefully shallowing out the club as it approaches more from the inside.

Any new comments?

[onephenom]

To me it looks like your trailing arm is too far behind the body, which can lead to unwanted draws and pulls

[dkling8]

Ok guys, here's an update.

I've been working on a more athletic setup position, and a less inside takeaway. It makes the backswing feel a lot more natural, but I'm having issues getting good contact. I didn't have problems with weight forward or flat left wrist in the past, but lately I've been hitting a lot of shots fat and thin.

I'm also working on getting my right side through the ball better. I really like how guys like Hunter Mahan get all the way through the ball with their right side.

Any new comments?

[dkling8]

I feel like this is my best swing to date.

I'm going to work on lowering my scores, instead of tinkering around with my swing every week. Unless anyone sees any big changes I need to make, I think I'm going to just relax and play some golf for awhile.

[apalthree]

Great idea. As we all know scoring doesn't really happen with that full swing. (Wedges, putts= short game. By the way I think your swing is nice. No need to change.

[dkling8]

It's been a couple years, but here's the latest: