Advice on rebuilding swing

[blaylock6502]

I have only been playing a few months and after a little time working with a coach I have plenty of things to work on! I basically need to rebuild my swing but am not really sure to go about it. He gave me several aspects of my swing to work on but it is too much to think about at once. Is it effective to break swing into parts and practice the parts individually? Ie backswing, sarting the downswing, bottom of swing? If so how would you divide them? I have been practicing with foam balls and with a ball in front of me I find it really dificult to slow my swing down and concentrate on mechanics and it gets discouraging because sometimes when concentrating I make poor and sometimes no contact! Does anyone have a practice routine they recommend or go by?

[APrince]

i saw your swing and i personally dont have a problem with the speed coming down, but maybe you can try to slow down on your back swing. its going so fast its bringing your head back with it, which may be a problem in why you are missing it all together sometimes. this may be leading to an inconsistent plane and uncontrolled attack angle but that's just my humble and unprofessional observation and opinion.

maybe you could practice doing backswings while stopping at the top of the swing. this may cause you to slow down if you cant stop under control or if your losing your angle.

dont mind the avatar, i didnt add it

[APrince]

Originally Posted by APrince

i saw your swing and i personally dont have a problem with the speed coming down, but maybe you can try to slow down on your back swing. its going so fast its bringing your head back with it, which may be a problem in why you are missing it all together sometimes. this may be leading to an inconsistent plane and uncontrolled attack angle but that's just my humble and unprofessional observation and opinion.

maybe you could practice doing backswings while stopping at the top of the swing. this may cause you to slow down if you cant stop under control or if your losing your angle.

dont mind the avatar, i didnt add it

also, when i i said to stop, i meant to say hold it there in position too. you could then release it and let gravity drop the club through the swing after a slight hip slide forward as you were nudging a door close with your hip and then repeat

[blaylock6502]

Hahaha! I didnt add my avatar either and was wondering if that had ever happened to anyone else! Sorry I wasnt very clear but he didnt say to slow my swing down completely but to practice I guess so I could concentrate on the changes. Im sure my best bet would be to lay off the foam balls because when km not trying to hit something I can slow it down and concentrate but without someone watching the ball is the only feedback I have.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by blaylock6502

Is it effective to break swing into parts and practice the parts individually?

Absolutely. Slow, deliberate repetition is the way to go. Break it into parts, and then put the pieces together. After my last lesson, which was about a month ago, I started just doing drills. Only just recently have I been making full swings at a ball.

BTW, the avatar part of this thread is hilarious!

[Ernest Jones]

sure my best bet would be to lay off the foam balls because when km not trying to hit something I can slow it down and concentrate but without someone watching the ball is the only feedback I have.

Get yourself a video camera, preferably one that is capable of filming 120fps or better but not essential. I guarantee you it will be the best training aid you have EVER purchased. Then look up threads on this forum about proper set-up for filming your swing.

[blaylock6502]

I have a camera and have worked with it a little bit.I appreciate all of the feedback! I think ill get away from hitting anything at all through the week and work more with the camera!

[Ernest Jones]

This would be a good resource for knowing what to look for when reviewing your swing. I would suggest starting a "my swing" thread as well and if your lucky some good people will help point out faults you can work on.

Good luck.

[blaylock6502]

I have a my swing thread but my knowlege of the game and lack of golf vocabulary make it difficult to take advantage of what im sure is some good pointers :(

[nighthawk31]

Dial into this:

If you can't hit it solid at current speed, go smaller and slower until you can.

It is of no worth to pound ball after ball out there and be excited about the one the goes woah and try to forget the other 20 feeling like ouch.

Make sure to make solid contact in the first place, start little pitches and have it going from there.

[blaylock6502]

I have slowed way down over the past couple of weeks and seen alot of improvement! In your opinion is work done on an iron swing transferrable to a driver? The reason I ask is my iron swing feels very natural and fluid (although it probably isnt) and my driver feels very forced and foreign. ? Usually if I play my irons well I slice badly off of the tee and if I drive somewhat consistantly I top the ball with my irons.? Any thoughts?

[nighthawk31]

Absolutely,

I you would swing the driver with the same tempo and same rythm as with the irons, that would be a pretty good start to come off.

Usually it goes like this: lot's of trust in th eirons, since the have comparalby short shafts, your pretty close to the ball and that feels comfortable.

With the big stick, it looks to be much different since the shaft is way longer.

Just give it a try on tempo and rythm, let the club go towrds the target on a tempo you can feel it. Start with little hits, try to hit only 50 yards until you remark solid hit. Don't hesitate to go shorter until you feel it, even if it ends up in a chip with the driver and increase from there again.

[blaylock6502]

Thanks a ton nighthawk!!!

[boil3rmak3r]

I feel like my best tool is a full body mirror. If you are working on mechanics, I highly recommend it. In front of a mirror, work on whatever you need to change in slow motion and watch yourself to make sure you are doing the things you want. Do this every night (even if it's for only 5 minutes). I have a net in my house, so I'll try to translate those slo-mo drills into full swings at the end. If you don't have this, maybe you go to the range once or twice per week to try... Video cameras are awesome to help you gauge what your full speed swing is doing. I've found, though, that it can simply frustrate you if you use it too often. IMO, you need to do slow motion drills to engrain whatever habit you need to develop. As for tempo, look at the thread on "Tour Tempo". Because of that product, I now have a better understanding of what "good tempo" actually means. Lastly, be patient. It takes a while to make any significant changes in your swing. Don't try to change everything at once... Break your goals into pieces and prioritize them in the order you want to accomplish them. It may take a while, but I promise you you'll hit milestones as you work through your long term plan. With each milestone you hit, you'll be excited and even more motivated to work on the next thing. Good luck!

[nighthawk31]

welcome baylock, happy if I can help

[kw purp]

really work on making strong contact on the hozzle of the club, then violently turning over your wrists in an effort to develop a shank draw. The "white whale" of golf shots.

[mvmac]

Find the priority piece and focus on that

[blaylock6502]

The main things I notice that I think cause my slice is sliding my hips forward and the club releases too late if at all.? Any thoughts or suggested drills?