Backswing Adjustment

[sofingaw]

Hello all,

For some very general background, I am a very bad golfer, who has been playing seriously for about 9 months. My best score yet is 110. I average a score in the 120's.

I recently had a bit of an epiphany with regard to hitting my driver, specifically. I strengthened my grip, and focused on bringing the club more inside on the takeaway. I still get loose and/or fast with it sometimes, as I am new, and inconsistent as hell.. but overall I have really been hitting it straighter. I do believe the new, inside takeaway is putting me in a better position for the downswing.

Last weekend at the WCG Cadillac at Doral, they had a 'Closest to the Pin' competition on a simulator, set up at the entrance.

I took a swing with a 9I, and pushed it weakly to the right.. not my best.    BUT....

They videotaped everybody's swing, and had a pro take a look at it, and send a brief analysis to each person via e-mail. VERY COOL!

The pro said I was bringing the club too far to the outside, and to work on bringing it more to the inside. This makes PERFECT sense to me, as I consciously bring the club inside with the driver, (as described above) but I also consciously bring it back differently with irons. With irons, for some reason, I try to make my takeaway what feels like straight back, with the idea that I will come straight through. Like a putter. (Hint: THIS HASN'T BEEN WORKING WELL! haha) My misses are: Left, Right, Short, Hit fat, thin, etc. in other words, everything, pretty much.

But now I think I need to bring it more inside with each club, including irons and full wedges, just like I do my driver and fairway wood.

Am I on the right track? Is it accurate that the takeaway will be similar, if not the same for each club? Is this kind of a DUH thing for most players?

If so, I feel dumb for having different takeaways before, yet relieved to have found a helpful idea.

[MambaGolfer]

Originally Posted by sofingaw

Hello all,

For some very general background, I am a very bad golfer, who has been playing seriously for about 9 months. My best score yet is 110. I average a score in the 120's.

I recently had a bit of an epiphany with regard to hitting my driver, specifically. I strengthened my grip, and focused on bringing the club more inside on the takeaway. I still get loose and/or fast with it sometimes, as I am new, and inconsistent as hell.. but overall I have really been hitting it straighter. I do believe the new, inside takeaway is putting me in a better position for the downswing.

Last weekend at the WCG Cadillac at Doral, they had a 'Closest to the Pin' competition on a simulator, set up at the entrance.

I took a swing with a 9I, and pushed it weakly to the right.. not my best.    BUT....

They videotaped everybody's swing, and had a pro take a look at it, and send a brief analysis to each person via e-mail. VERY COOL!

The pro said I was bringing the club too far to the outside, and to work on bringing it more to the inside. This makes PERFECT sense to me, as I consciously bring the club inside with the driver, (as described above) but I also consciously bring it back differently with irons. With irons, for some reason, I try to make my takeaway what feels like straight back, with the idea that I will come straight through. Like a putter. (Hint: THIS HASN'T BEEN WORKING WELL! haha) My misses are: Left, Right, Short, Hit fat, thin, etc. in other words, everything, pretty much.

But now I think I need to bring it more inside with each club, including irons and full wedges, just like I do my driver and fairway wood.

Am I on the right track? Is it accurate that the takeaway will be similar, if not the same for each club? Is this kind of a DUH thing for most players?

If so, I feel dumb for having different takeaways before, yet relieved to have found a helpful idea.

It's hard to tell without a video of your swing. If you are taking the club back way outside your hands (rickie fowler, jim furyk), then yes it is a good idea to take it a bit more inside. But one of the biggest problems amateurs overall imo is taking the club back way inside and off plane, which sets up for an over the top move. It's very hard to identify without any kind of video on your swing. It's a pretty crappy picture, but notice how the head of the club is covering Tiger's hands? That indicates an on plane back swing and it is definitely something you want to emulate in your swing.

[sofingaw]

[URL]http://www.v1sports.com/mobile/default.asp?params=1227953$0$0$CWGC$1232939[/URL] Here is a link to the analysis. I hope it works. One note: When he said 'right elbow' I'm pretty sure he meant left. What I found in doing a bunch of practice swings at home is: 1) Overall, coming more inside like I do with the driver FELT better and more natural. 2) The clubhead seemed to come down into the impact position squarely and required little/no compensation. 3) Coming more inside indeed increased my shoulder turn automatically, compared with the swing in the video. I am anxious to get to the range and really see what happens!

[sofingaw]

And thanks for the reply, mamba!

[MambaGolfer]

Originally Posted by sofingaw

http://www.v1sports.com/mobile/default.asp?params=1227953$0$0$CWGC$1232939

Here is a link to the analysis. I hope it works. One note: When he said 'right elbow' I'm pretty sure he meant left.

What I found in doing a bunch of practice swings at home is:

1) Overall, coming more inside like I do with the driver FELT better and more natural.

2) The clubhead seemed to come down into the impact position squarely and required little/no compensation.

3) Coming more inside indeed increased my shoulder turn automatically, compared with the swing in the video.

I am anxious to get to the range and really see what happens!

Yes, you would totally benefit from taking the club back more to the inside. Your angle of attack (AoA) to the ball is very steep and it looks like you hit quite a bit behind the ball, although it was hard to tell with the video. You can live with a steep backswing if you compensate for it by dropping the club down under plane at the top, much like Furyk's little loop move, but imo it is much harder to do it that way. It's up to you if you would like to try to perfect a move similar to that, or do what I think is simpler and work on taking the club back more inside and on plane for your backswing.

P.S.- I would definitely start a myswing thread. I'm sure you'll get a lot more replies and have more eyes looking at your swing. I consider myself to have a decent understanding of the swing, but NO WHERE near what the qualified teaching professionals on this site have. Good luck with the swing and think about starting a myswing thread

[sofingaw]

Thanks for the feedback! I think I will post a my swing thread shortly. I definitely respect the opinions and insights of the pros and experienced players here who provide all their input that they provide for FREE! haha.

As a quick update, I hit the range today and literally have never hit the ball better. I still hit the odd one fat or thin, but easily over 90% of my shots were good contact, and would have been playable on the course. (I would estimate around 60% currently fit that profile!)

A great improvement. Coming back inside a bit, vice outside, (or what felt like straight back) was definitely a major key for me.

Thanks for the help!

[MambaGolfer]

Originally Posted by sofingaw

Thanks for the feedback! I think I will post a my swing thread shortly. I definitely respect the opinions and insights of the pros and experienced players here who provide all their input that they provide for FREE! haha.

As a quick update, I hit the range today and literally have never hit the ball better. I still hit the odd one fat or thin, but easily over 90% of my shots were good contact, and would have been playable on the course. (I would estimate around 60% currently fit that profile!)

A great improvement. Coming back inside a bit, vice outside, (or what felt like straight back) was definitely a major key for me.

Thanks for the help!

Anytime, glad I could help