My Swing (cfcboy)

[cfcboy]

I've been Playing Golf for: On and off for 10 years but not played for 6

My current handicap index or average score is: 28

My typical ball flight is: Weak, hacked or big push with sometimes a slice

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Push shots.. I want to get the ball "out there!"

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Hi all, noob here who is looking for some decent advice on my pretty shocking swing! Ok so ive been playing golf for a few years but approx 30 rounds over those years, ive not hit a ball in the last 6 years. Ive always been poor but a few years ago i was getting under the 95 mark and was hitting some decent draws an was fairly straight.

Roll on 6 years and all my mates have convinced me to come back out, picked up my first club last week and im instantly hooked, not sure why this time round, maybe its an age thing when you are too old to go out partying every week!

First round - hit 22 stabelford off 28 handicap. Was pretty bad as you can imagine after such an long period of the course. Massive push shots, slices, not getting off the deck.... you know the drill

Second round - confidence shot after the first round hit 16 points! (tld you i was bad :p). Went out with my mates in two 8 balls and basically got ripped the entire round (what are friends for!).

Third round - Decided id spend a couple of days reading up, checking out beginners guide videos for basics. Shot 28 points and ball was being hit slightly better. Decided the driver should stay in my bag so went safe with 6 irons off the tee. 50% of drives went straight but still fell a little weak but was down the fairway so a step in the right direction. Was having trouble getting ball off the deck mind.

So what im looking for is somewhere to start building a swing that wont have me as a laughing stock every weekend, im willing to hit the range every night if i get somewhere i just need some advice where to start! As you can see i have the power off an ant and the arm off a wisp! I have a couple more vids but nothing from the back so will try to get some next time im down the range.

Main issue is the push shot, EVERY shot goes right of some sort, nothing goes left at all !

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

[theworldengine]

Use a stronger grip. Your weak grip is the cause of everything going right. With the driver you should look down and see two knuckles on the left hand.

[cfcboy]

Strong = good or strong = stronger solid/tight?

Appreciate the reply

[Hacker James]

with this video there is really nothing to comment on other than your grip. A "weak" grip is not necessarily wrong per se, but without seeing the other components of your swing  nobody can really advise you.  You can google what a "strong" grip is, this video shows what I call a "long thumb" weak grip.

Strong grip is not a "tighter" or even "firmer" grip, but one in which the hands are orientated a little more clockwise and as TWE said, seeing 2 or more knuckles of the left hand looking down at your grip from address.

As far as it being the cause of "everything" going right.  No way to really tell from this video. It could be though. Can not see much, but in the downswing, the right elbow is pretty much in front and away from the torso and "looks" like you came down from the outside. There is some really good instruction in this forum on how to set up for videos. The most obvious of course is you are much too close.

Hopes this helps. I too am learning how to shoot proper video. Aside from that, there are others much more qualified than I to evaluate your swing once we are able to actually see it.

[cfcboy]

HJ,

Good words of wisdom, totally agree the video is awful but best i could do at the time. My son is doing a photography course so has a decent camera so will get him to film me from several angles and repost.

Regarding the grip, i can never feel totally comfortable, ive change using interlock, baseball and overlap just to see what fits right but struggling to find anything that works. Do you think its worth me getting a grip traning aid to train my hands into memorizing?

[Hacker James]

HJ,

Good words of wisdom, totally agree the video is awful but best i could do at the time. My son is doing a photography course so has a decent camera so will get him to film me from several angles and repost.

Regarding the grip, i can never feel totally comfortable, ive change using interlock, baseball and overlap just to see what fits right but struggling to find anything that works. Do you think its worth me getting a grip traning aid to train my hands into memorizing?

Personally, I don't like those sort of training aids. A lot of people simply do not put enough emphasis into getting a proper grip to begin with. The best illustrations I have seen are in Ben Hogan's Book  Five Lessons. He devotes a lot of time on the subject. First the left hand, then the right. I now do this automatically, and it has become second nature. I still check from time to time. One thing that helped me was his suggestion that if the left hand is placed on the grip properly, you should be able to hold the club using only the index finger and the anterior heel pad, NOT your life line (about 1 1/2 inches behind the pinkie finger). Then place the thumb and remaining three fingers on the grip. And for the right hand, there is almost no pressure whatsoever between index and thumb pincer. In fact he advocates holding the right thumb tightly against the first joint from the index knuckle, on top of the club not around it. I can even take a full swing with the right thumb sticking straight up! (not recommending this, mind you).

Now having said this, you may hear from others that it is not all that important. Read the book and be your own judge.

Looking forward to your next video. You really only need 2 angles, face-on Caddie View, and from behind "down the line" view midway between stance and club head or some say on line with your toes. I set mine up about chest high.

[iacas]

Tough to say without a proper video/camera angle and an actual swing, but look at Key #1 videos at http://purestrike5sk.com/videos.php . Key #1 is "Steady Head" but it really has to do with HOW to keep a relatively steady head WHILE making a FULL turn.

Your turn is not full:

As for a training aid, grip a ruler. Just a standard wooden ruler, or any of those little one-foot long rulers that you have in your house that are about an inch wide. It's difficult to grip a ruler incorrectly.

[cfcboy]

HJ,

The more i think about my grip the more i think its one of the main causes of my issues. In my left hand (which i thought i actually was holding correctly) seems to be the main problem, i tend to start at the flesh bit below my pinky that goes alomost in a straight line up to my index, almost missing touching the two middle fingers, it fits more in the flesh part below the start of each. How is the grip supposed to feel, is it like your coming round a bit on your left hand so feels a bit over the top? I tried it and it felt like my left arm was stronger and doing a lot more of the work (though ive not hit a ball yet to test).

My right hand also seems to be an issue, mainly to get comfortable. Ive tried all three (baseball, over and interlocking) and all feel different in thier own right. The over lap feels like i dont have much control, the interlock feels like i dont have any power and the baseball (even though the most comfortable) makes me feel like im just trying to whack the ball (ala baseball!).

Iacas,

My shoulder turn?! What shoulder turn!

Seriously though, i have a rubbish turn which might be the cause of the shoulder blade aches ive been getting today. Really need to focus on that, i dont suppose you know any good drills to sort this? I need to get the real basics right then post another swing video me thinks

[iacas]

iacas,

My shoulder turn?! What shoulder turn!

Seriously though, i have a rubbish turn which might be the cause of the shoulder blade aches ive been getting today. Really need to focus on that, i dont suppose you know any good drills to sort this? I need to get the real basics right then post another swing video me thinks

Key #1 videos.

For example:

[Hacker James]

Griip should be mostly in the fingers. On my left hand, I have callouses a the base of the two middle fingers. If you place the shaft across the fingers at the bases (where your ring lays) you should feel that the two middle fingers offer the most support, the little finger not so much. This should tend to automatically set your left hand in the proper position with the crease between thumb and index finger pointing to your right shoulder.  When the right hand is in position, the crease should point to your chin. as you fold the right life line over left thumb. As mentioned earlier, gripping a ruler in this manner would help. The way you describe it, sounds like you need to rotate both hands slightly clockwise  I use the Vardon/over lap grip, but sometimes a baseball grip if a slice starts to appear, usually a few swings with the BB grip gets me back on track and I then revert back to the overlap.   Work on one thing at a time. The steady head key and shoulder turn drills in the above videos would be an excellent next step.

oh...get the book. I got a paperback at Barnes and Noble for under $20 or try ebay.  you can see comments in this forum under "good reads or whatever its called".

[theworldengine]

Imo the grip can be any combination of fingers and palms. I hold it mostly in the palm, so did Jack and Tiger FWIW.