My Swing Videos

[is 120 respectable]

I have been working on looking at my swing through video now and then, and I finally got the videos up on youtube. I am a bad golfer so I figure that I have a ton of flaws. I know a decent bit about the swing so I see a few, but I think others on this board who are knowledgable can give me some tips or drills to make me better.

This one is from the side:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUORmGz2ix4

This one from behind the ball:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmLdVFaJyGM

A few notes:
1) I'm 6'2", 200 lbs so I'm a big guy... 18 years old
2) Average drive is probably 250 yards (290 is best ever), 7-iron is 150-155 yards
3) I knew that on the swing from the side I got nowhere near parallel with the club, so from the other angle I made sure I got full shoulder turn/parallel
4) However, on the parallel swing I hit the ball fat and pushed it at least 10 yards to the right of my target
5) I'm in my backyard and would not where those clothes golfing! lol

That's it, thanks in advance for any breakdowns or tips. Feel free to tear me apart because I just want to get better.

[Reefer_Madness]

Go Beavs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[thumper07]

well i dont go full parallel either and i hit my 8 iron 150-155 so is making it to parallel necessary? not for me so i dont consider it a flaw.

-matt

[Mhinderaker]

For me distance comes less from how far I take the club back and more from hitting the ball squarely with a delofted clubface.

I don't consider myself good enough to critique your swing, but to me it looks like you might be a little quick tempo-wise.

[is 120 respectable]

  Mhinderaker said:

For me distance comes less from how far I take the club back and more from hitting the ball squarely with a delofted clubface.

Reefer, all I will say is that the game is at Autzen this year, and the kicker can't be worse then last year. Go DUCKS!!

Mhinderaker-- Thanks for the comment and tip, believe me you are much better then I am so you are good enough to critique my swing (in my book anyhow). About the tempo, I actually thought the same thing. I think it used to be better, before I battled the shanks a while back. Ever since then, I have been a little off, slowly working my irons back to where they once were. This is something I will work on.

[Mhinderaker]

I'm just saying that I am no swing guru and it would be great to get Ringer or somebody like that in here that actually knows what they are talking about.

Tempo is something that is pretty individual and honestly with most swings I say if it ain't broke don't fix it.

[thumper07]

yeah i have a fast tempo too and people tell me to slow down and it throws me haywire. look at nick price, tempo is something natural that shouldn't be chaged, im opinion anyway.

-matt

[benny]

Not a pro, but here is my impression. It looks like your intent is to lift the ball into the air. Imagine there is a picnic table bench located 5ft. down your target line (across it). Try hitting your irons under the bench - you can't do it, but it should give you better impact position. Make sure your divots are in from of the ball. Place three balls in a straight line, hit the middle one, see if your divot is in front of the remaining two.
Hope that helps.

Ben

[is 120 respectable]

  benny said:

Not a pro, but here is my impression. It looks like your intent is to lift the ball into the air. Imagine there is a picnic table bench located 5ft. down your target line (across it). Try hitting your irons under the bench - you can't do it, but it should give you better impact position. Make sure your divots are in from of the ball. Place three balls in a straight line, hit the middle one, see if your divot is in front of the remaining two.

This really makes sense to me. I never thought of it before, but I guess this would explain (to me anyway) why I have been hitting so many fat shots and dreading hardpan lies. I understand what you are saying about hitting down on the ball rather than lifting it, but my question is can I do this without changing anything mechanically. For example do I have to make my iron swings steeper based on the video to better hit down on the ball. Thanks and I will work on this ASAP.

[benny]

Respectable,
In order to trap the ball (hit down) the shaft needs to lean toward the target at impact as it is designed to do. To do this we need a weight shift toward the target, flat left wrist, and bent right wrist at impact. Usually, players who attempt to lift the ball into the air "flip" through impact - bending the left wrist and flattening the right.
I read that bench tip somewhere many years ago but it was for chipping. It cured my chili-dips when chipping, and helped me with impact on full swings. You might want to practice hitting low chips with the ball middle/forward to learn how to get the hands/shaft forward.
I'm usually not real comfortable giving swing advice as I don't want to send someone down the wrong road. Hopefully, an instructor can confirm my initial impression of your swing and offer better technical assistance.

[Guest]

The only advice I have is slow down your backswing and take your time.... You seem to rush your swing...

[is 120 respectable]

I tried some of the things mentioned in this thread today. I felt like my tempo was better, especially with the driver. As for hitting down on the irons better, I'll call it a work in progress. The irons were not very good at all today, par 3s killed me. When I consciously tried to hit down on the ball I either topped it or hit it fat. I couldn't seem to get it just right. O well I'll keep working on it.

More advice is still appreciated. Thanks!