Help! Bad to Good to Bad.

[Behan]

Try to keep it as brief as possible, but in need of some serious swing 911 (sans video). New guy here, played once or twice a year for first thirty years, then gradually got more interested. Really only been trying to make honest strides in my swing in the last year or so. Ironically, it has gotten progressively worse. I think a lot of that is my trying to make too many changes at once. Anyway, if you happen to glance at my profile, ignore my handicap. It made me enter a number and I have no idea, so I put down 15. Seems as good a number as any. I am yet to break 100 (close, but not yet), so I am clearly pretty bad, but really trying to inprove and getting very close to that (sad) milestone. Well, I was... About 3 months or so my irons just went all septic. My hybrid and fairway woods are good (or at least passible). I slice my driver, but that really isn't what is causing me to lose sleep. What is killing me is my irons--all of them. And I'm pretty sure I might need to use one or two of them in my next round... Here's my best summation of what went on. I tried to make a bunch of interweb-recommended changes to grip, stance, ball position, etc. all in a short period. Somehow, in all of that, I completely lost my swing. I mean gone. I would hit thin, fat, slice, hook, and generally hit it anywhere but straight and far. 90 percent of the balls would go low and right, about 20 yards and roll another ten. Really embarassing stuff. Then I stumbled upon these threads and read up on lag. I was convinced it wasn't the issue I was having (seemed a bit advanced, and my problem were more basic), but I figured I would give it a go during my daily lunchtime torture session at the range. Heck, I tried everything else without success. It was amazing. For the first time, swing felt somehow natural. I was using big muscle groups and swinging easy, and ball was flying far (about 10 to 20 past my old "decent" shots) and,more importantly, pretty straight. I was off 10 to 20 yards left or right (mostly left) on my 6 and 7 irons, but I would take that seven days a week and twice on Sunday over my usual garbage. That was a swing that just needed to be honed a bit. Of course, I was worried that night that it was a fluke, and cringed when I hit my first shot the next day. But it was far and straight. A whole bucket without one bad ball. The next day was pretty much the same. I had figured out golf. I was even giving out advice to family members. Then the golf gods got wind of my hubris. Day four everything went bad, and I mean ugly bad. I hit an entire bucket without a decent ball. And not just a slight slice or hook. I'm talking thse little dribblers that roll just far enoigh put that you consider walking out and getting the ball again. As far as I can tell, I'm doing everything the same, although ot doesn't "feel" right anymore. I'm focusing on keeping elbows close together, keeping right elbow in, keeping hands ahead of ball, head behind, shifting weight, clearing hip. Still, somehow, and I can't totally confirm this because I am forced to hit off mats at my range, I think I am hitting fat. And not just a little fat--I think doing all these things is having me hit about 6 inches behind the ball. I cannot see it because it all happens pretty quick and my vision must be worse than I thought. I've heard people talk about watching the club contact the ball, and I know my swing is slower than most, but I just cannot see or process things that fast, so I rely more on the sound and feel. Problems I know I have and things that confuse me: 1. Have issues with a ruptured L5, which generally makes it feel like someone shot me in the left buttcheek much of the time. As such, I don't get the rotatio I really should on my backswing. I also seem the feel a real uncomfortable stretch in my left shoulder when in goes across my chest. Never had a history of shoulder issues, but I can't even imagine making my left arm do what most swing photos suggest. Not while my right hand stays on the club anyway. 2. I know hands should be ahead of clubface at impact, and I keep reading about not shifting laterally, but I stuggle to visualize (or at least execute) how the former happens without at least some of the latter. Hitting down on the club seems to make me want to slide forward quite a a bit--otherwise I end up casting. 3. I know My old natural swing was very over the top, and I struggle to flatten it out a bit. I also tend to do something screwy at top of backswing where the clubface comes back over my left shoulder--forget what that is called, but I have tried to slow and shorten my backswing a bit to address this and it helps a little. 4. I seem to be able to make half swings OK, with the corresponding loss of distance. Once I go beyond that, things go septic. Cannot tell if it is that part of my backswing or downswing (or both/neither) causing the problem. That's all that comes to mind at present. I know suggestions are limited without video evidence of my criminal swing, but I am hoping maybe somehow has a miracle pill for what ails me. Has anyone else ever started getting the lag thing to work, only to start hitting fat? Were you able to cure it? I have family coming in for a week of golf in a few days, and I am afraid to even take an iron out of my bag at this point. Any and all suggestions appreciated! (Apologize for the length--wanted to try to get as much info as I could in there without a video. Also apologize for any typos--working on an iPad at the moment and that makes it a bit tough for me.)

[Behan]

Starting to zero in on the issue a slight bit.

Hit off the grass today and I am most certainly hitting it fat. I think I am also really coming over the top as divots were short and very deep.

Tried a few things to remedy the situation--I flattened my backswing and widened my stance, which seemed to help a little.

I tend to really drop my right shoulder along my downswing, and I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

It is probably because I drop my shoulder so much that I am hitting fat, but the only way I can picture me droping the shoulder, keeping hands ahead of clubhead, and hitting down on the ball is if I accomplish a sizeable lateral shift, which i think is a bad thing (right?).

I think I am capable of doing this shift--in fact, I think I have to take some pretty big countermeasures to prevent this shift from taking place, but I'm not sure if I should be fighting it or going with it.

Also, I have a hard time envisioning any type of lateral shift without my head going along for the ride.

Anybody?

[jude]

What ???